2 gg ] The Fascination of Flowers 



He made countless improvements in vegetables as well as 

 in flowers; bigger and better potatoes, sweet corn that matures 

 early in the season, luscious blackberries on thornless bushes, and 

 freestone plums of excellent flavor and texture, are just a few of 

 them. There is no secret about the methods he used to bring about 

 his "miracles" with plants. These methods have often been de- 

 scribed, and a book by Mr. Burbank (Partner of Nature) telling 

 about his work is exciting reading. 



How Seeds Are Scattered 



One of the most intriguing aspects of the flower story in- 

 volves the ways in which seeds are scattered. Many children get 

 their first notion of seed dispersal when they blow at a dandelion 

 "gone to seed." Each seed, attached to a filmy parachute, flies away. 



Other times, say after a country hike, a youngster may find his 

 clothes (or his dog's fur coat) covered with sticktights or cockle- 

 burs seeking transportation with their sharp little hooks. If he 

 realizes these "burs" are seeds, unconsciously trying to use him 

 or the dog as a means of reaching new growing grounds, he may 

 find the job of prying them loose less tedious. 



Other Ways That Seeds Travel: Although the seeds that are dis- 

 persed by the wind are the most conspicuous ones, we can observe 

 other ways they travel. Some plants, including violets, pansies, and 

 touch-me-nots, shoot their seeds. Water lilies and several other 

 water plants bear seeds that manage to float to some desirable 

 growing spot without becoming water-soaked. 



180,000 Seeds from a Plant: Countless seeds are unsuccessful, as a 

 youngster may realize when he throws the burs into a scrapbasket; 

 but this is of little importance as the number of seeds borne by 

 each plant is incredibly large. Charles Darwin reported counting 

 the seeds of an orchid; he found more than six thousand in a pod. 

 As there were thirty pods on the plant, the total number of pros- 

 pective seedlings from this parent would be something like 

 180,000! 



