Proceedings. 1 78 



Judge Hemiup then read a paper entitled "the star Sirius and 

 its satellites." 



The paper gave a resume of what was known at the present time of 

 this interesting star, and an account of the discovery of its satellite by Alvin 

 Clarke about four jears ago while testing the objective of the telescope he 

 was then making for the Chicago observatory. 



Prof. J. A. Dodge presented a sample of coal of which he had 

 made an analysis for the Canadian Pacific Coal Compan}^ Mr. A. 

 Pugh of St. Paul, general manager. The analysis showed the coal 

 to be an anthracite of good quality. The locality of the Ijed is the 

 basm of the Bow river, Northwest Territory. 



March 6, i888. 



Twenty-one persons present. 



The section of botany gave the programe of the evening. 



Dr. Thos. S. Roberts presented a paper describing some of the 



different methods of plants for scattering their seeds. A number 



of charts illustrated the paper and dried specimens were exhibited 



of plants from our own flora showing peculiar adaptations for this 



work. 



[abstract.] 



Dr. lioberts spoke briefly from notes upon the subject, "how plants 

 sow their seeds," illustrating by crayon drawings a number of the principal 

 natural devices by means of which the seeds of plants are scattered to a dis- 

 tance from the parent stem. 



The advantage to a plant of a wide dissemination of its seeds is that it 

 accomplishes the extensive dispersion of the individuals and contributes to 

 their better development, thus aiding in the perpetuation and advancement 

 of the species. Atmospheric currents, ocean, lake and wind currents, fruit 

 and seed-eating animals, animals witli mooIIj^ coats, and forces variousl}' 

 generated by the plants themselves, all operate in conjunction with more or 

 less specially developed structures of seed, seed-covering or entire plant to 

 accomplish the dispersal and planting of the ripened seeds. The great 

 class of pappus bearing seeds, winged seeds, wooly seeds, those provided 

 with some parachute-like appendage as is the seed cluster of our common 

 linden, tiny seeds and germs of dust-like lightness and many others are 

 wafted far and wide bj- the winds; other seeds, seed pods and in some cases 

 the entire plant (as for example Galium) are provided with prickles, arms, 

 teeth, barbs or stiff woolly covering by means of which they cling to the 

 rough coats of passing animals and are thus conveyed from^ place to place; 

 the hard and almost imperishable coats of many seeds insure a safe passage 

 through the digestive tract of birds or other animals and they are dropped 

 it may be miles from where they were devoured with the germ unharmed; 

 or they may be washed hither and thither for days by the river current or 

 ocean wave until at last they find a proper resting place to germinate and 



