Seed-Carriers 273 



ings, is provided first, probably, by the decay of lichens 

 and mosses and of the stone itself, and also by the 

 wind, which conveys many a little pile of dust into 

 sheltered nooks and corners. As for the mistletoe, 

 being a parasite and living by the labour of others, it 

 has no difficulty about soil, and makes itself at home 

 not only on the oak, but on other trees, above all on 

 the apple. 



In the forests on the Amazons, plants without 

 number may be seen growing on the trees, some of 

 which, as the ferns and orchids, have no doubt been 

 sown by the wind ; while there are others, such as the 

 fragrant pink-and-white clusia, which are equally surely 

 sown by the birds. The large, round, whitish fruit of 

 the clusia, called the ' wild onion/ is much eaten by 

 birds, and is to be seen growing on almost every other 

 tree. 



Tropical birds, whether in the east or in the west, 

 are all chiefly fruit or insect eaters ; while in temperate 

 latitudes, where there is much grass, seed-eaters abound, 

 and a mixed diet is more general. 



The fruit-eating, and consequently seed-carrying, 

 birds of the tropics are the countless multitudes of the 

 parrot tribe, which usually feed in flocks of thousands, 

 and wander far in search of food ; and, besides these, 

 there are many fruit-eating pigeons, hornbills, and 

 others. Nor must the immense flocks of large fruit- 

 bats, or flying foxes, be overlooked ; for their numbers 

 are so enormous that they often take hours to pass, 

 while their depredations in the orchards are carried to 

 such an extent as to make them one of the greatest 

 pests of the tropical fruit-grower of the East. In his 

 absence, however, the fruit-eaters have done, and 



18 



