104 PROPAGATION OF THE SPECIES, CHAP. IX. 



ment, not only transfers to his native soil seeds in- 

 digenous to the most distant regions, but sows and 

 cultivates them with care. But this view of the 

 subject I will leave to the reader's own reflections, 

 and hasten to the other modes of dispersion insti- 

 tuted by nature ; one of the most effective of which 

 is that of the agency of winds. 



By the Some seeds are fitted for this mode of dispersion 



from their extreme minuteness, such as those of the 

 Mosses, Lichens, and Fungi, which float invisibly 

 on the air and vegetate wherever they happen to 

 meet with a suitable soil. Others are fitted for it by 

 means of an attached wing, as in the case of the 

 Fir-tree and Liriodendron tulipifera, so that the 

 seed in falling from the cone or capsule is imme- 

 diately caught by the wind and carried to a distance. 



Others are peculiarly fitted for it by means of 

 their being furnished with an aigrette or down, as 

 in the case of the Dandelion, Goat's-beard, and 

 Thistle, as well as most plants of the class Synge- 

 nesia ; the down of which is so large and light in 

 proportion to the seed it supports, that it is wafted 

 on the most gentle breeze, and often seen floating 

 through the atmosphere in great abundance at the 

 time the seed is ripe. 



Others are fitted for this mode of dispersion by 

 means of the structure of their pericarp, which is 

 also wafted along with them, as in the case of Sta~ 

 phylea trifolia, the inflated capsule of which seems 

 as if obviously intended thus to aid the dispersion of 



