THE WIDE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANT-GERMS. 33 



out of the animal uninjured by the process of 

 digestion. By such means seeds are carried to 

 distant parts of the earth. 



Man, either purposely or accidentally, scatters 

 plants, germs, or seeds in far-distant countries. 

 Not unfrequently some of the plants thus brought 

 from one country to another find the conditions 

 of soil and climate in their new home so favorable 

 to growth as to completely drive out and exter- 

 minate domestic species. 



Besides the means just mentioned for the scatter- 

 ing of germs or seeds of plants, there are possibly 

 others that have not yet been recognized. 



The germs or seeds of plants possess a singular 

 vitality under certain conditions. The grains of 

 corn or wheat found in the Egyptian mummies, in 

 many cases, grew and bore fruit notwithstanding 

 their centuries of rest. Such instances of the 

 preservation of vitality are, perhaps, less wonder- 

 ful when viewed in the light of the exceedingly 

 dry climate in which the mummies were preserved. 

 More curious instances are found in which the 

 germs existed for a long time in the presence of 

 an abundance of moisture, and did not grow as 

 long as the heat and light alone were absent. 



The truth of the above statements is denied by 



