80 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 



seeds a considerable distance. This movement is 

 as quick as a flash of lightning, and the seed-pod 

 is usually turned inside out. The oxalis holds its 

 seed-pods erect, daring any one to touch them! 

 And if one does, away shoot the seeds to a new 

 home where they will germinate and grow as new 

 plants. This is their only method of getting away 

 from home; if they did not shoot out into the 

 world, they would continue to sow their seeds in 

 the same place until they would crowd each other 

 out. 



The witch-hazel, touch-me-not, squirting cucum- 

 ber, balsam, wild geranium, peas and vetches, mus- 

 tard, and castor bean all these send their children 

 into the world by shooting or squirting them far 

 from the parent plant. Some of these fruits act 

 as regular sling-shots, hurling their seeds some- 

 times, as in the case of the witch-hazel, twenty to 

 twenty-five feet; others, like the balsam vine and 

 the squirting cucumber, act like a squirting gun; 

 while the touch-me-not, when touched or shaken, 

 suddenly twists back, and shoots its seeds out with 

 such force that they rattle like bird-shot among 

 the dead leaves. Observe the fruit-pods of beans 

 and peas, especially when they are first exposed to 

 a dry atmosphere, and this wonderful shooting 

 phenomenon will soon be apparent. Or collect some 



