42 THE PINE. 



are not, as would at first appear, altered, remains of 

 a perianth ; they are the scales by which the female 

 flowers were sheltered, now enlarged and indurated, 

 and forming a kind of capsule for the seeds. While 

 young, they remain closed ; when mature, especially 

 if exposed to warmth, they separate, and the seeds 

 fall to the ground. But in many cases the seeds 

 are provided with a wing, which enables the wind 

 to carry them to a distance. 



What a beautiful phenomenon is this of the wings 

 of seeds ! " Give us wings " is the universal cry of 

 nature; and though we commonly associate such 

 wings with plants like thistles and dandelions, in 

 truth there are as fine examples, yea finer ones, 

 among trees. One of the most exquisite productions 

 of nature is the winged seed of the Brazilian tree 

 called by botanists Bignonia echinata. Though in 

 no way related to the pines and firs, it has a wing to 

 every seed, spreading on each side like a film of 

 iridescent glass, thinner than the thinnest tissue- 

 paper, and in width and general appearance remind- 

 ing us of a white butterfly. When cast into the 

 air, the seed slowly circles downwards, like a falling 

 leaf in October, unless caught by a current of air, 

 when it sails away into the aerial sea. The peculiar 

 fruit of the pines and firs familiarly known, as 

 above said, by the name of the "cone" was early 

 taken advantage of in order to give an appropriate 

 name to the family. Whether pines or firs, cedars 



