PLANTS THAT ARE ATHLETES 77 



also wish to travel, until often dozens of these ad- 

 venturous wind-witches rise together hundreds of 

 feet in the air. Sometimes they whirl like dancing 

 mice, and the whole massive, yet airy, ball seems to 

 be a spirited, living thing. Not uncommonly it 

 circles from the earth in the form of a crown or 

 wreath, which the wind places on the head of some 

 lofty mountain. No wonder the plant is named 

 wind-witch. This marvellous method of sowing its 

 seeds assures an ever bountiful supply of these 

 witches; and they play havoc with the farmer's 

 crops ! 



The American tumble-weed (Amaranthus al- 

 bus), also several grasses, especially the common 

 peppergrass, has this hopping habit developed to a 

 remarkable degree. Another example of a skilled 

 hopping athlete is the evening primrose. When this 

 plant dries up, it is soon pulled from the ground by 

 the nagging wind. Sometimes its branches break 

 in such a way that they give the impression of a 

 number of crutches, by means of which it hops and 

 limps over the prairies, like an aged cripple try- 

 ing to get away from a storm. This is its ingenious 

 way of sowing its seeds ; and yet many people have 

 never observed even the beauty and wonder of its 

 flowers, not to mention the novel manner in which 



