of a 



flying-machine of its own, it is rich enough to 

 employ the rarest transportation in the world. 

 With attractively colored and luscious pulp it 

 hires many beautiful birds to carry it to new 

 scenes. On the wings of the mockingbird and 

 the hermit thrush, what a happy and roman- 

 tic way in which to seek the promised land ! 



Many kinds of pulp-covered seeds that are 

 attractive and delicious when ripe are unpleas- 

 ant to the taste while green; this protective 

 measure guards them against being sown before 

 they are ready or ripe. The instant persimmons 

 are ripe, the trees are full of opossums which 

 disseminate the ready-to-grow seeds; but Mr. 

 'Possum avoids the green and puckery per- 

 simmons! 



The big tree is one of the most fruitful of seed- 

 bearers. In a single year one of these may pro- 

 duce some millions of fertile seeds. These ma- 

 ture in comparatively small cones and, each 

 seed being light as air, they are sometimes car- 

 ried by high winds across ridges and ravines 

 before being dropped to the earth. 



The honey locust uses a peculiar device to 

 299 



