190 THE RING OF NATURE 



long to fall a given distance as the fruits by them- 

 selves would do. They are borne on stalks, some 

 three feet high, and capable when blown by the 

 wind of giving the seeds a very useful jerk in the 

 right direction, so that, what with that and the force 

 of the wind, the seed usually manages to travel a 

 good six feet from the parent plant. 



The bristles that take the place of plumes on 

 the fruit of the scabious are enough for the wind 

 to take hold of in the same way, and also serve to 

 work the seed into any little earth cavity, and 

 thus effectually plant it. The reader will not be 

 able to examine any seeding composite, however 

 elementary its pappus, without congratulating 

 it upon having done better with its calyx than 

 merely cast it away. The fruit of the oat-grass 

 and some others having an equipment not unlike 

 the bristles of the scabious, by twisting their 

 awns together like springs that suddenly dis- 

 engage, get along the ground a few inches in a 

 series of little hops before encountering an obstacle 

 under which the same force buries the seed. 



Ordinary smooth round seeds that are jerked 

 out by the wind do not leave the matter by any 

 means to chance. The long, wiry stalks on which 

 they grow are eminently calculated to give their 

 jerk at just the right time to send the seed the 

 greatest possible distances. If we examine the 

 common sage or any of the dead-nettles we find 

 that the lower lip of the calyx is beautifully shaped 

 for giving the projectile an upward guidance that 



