XIX 



PLANTS THAT HIDE THEIR BLOSSOMS AND THEIR 

 FRUIT UNDERGROUND 



NATURE has many ways and means of caring 

 for the propagation of her children, and to 

 her the humblest are as important as the more fa- 

 voured. A very large percentage of plants repro- 

 duce by means of seeds; and there are almost as 

 many ways of distribution as there are kinds of 

 seeds: some roll, tumble, hop, dance, fly, swim, or 

 crawl; others jump, dive, canoe, skate, or shoot; 

 again, others prefer riding on animals and human 

 beings ! 



But practically all of these are plants that have 

 their fruits and flowers above ground. There are, 

 however, some plants which are far too wise to risk 

 exposing all their flowers or fruit above the earth, 

 so they secretly hide at least part of their flowers, 

 and all of their fruit, under the soil. 



One of the commonest of these is the well-known 

 peanut, or groundnut. This interesting, clover- 

 like plant belongs to the bean family, Leguminosse ; 

 165 



