ON THE WINGS OF THE WIND. 55 



remarkable and almost unique mode of protecting its off- 

 spring. This particular kind of clover affects smooth and 

 close-cropped hillsides, where the sheep nibble down the 

 grass and other herbage almost as fast as it springs up 

 again. Now, clover seeds resemble their allies of the pea 

 and bean tribe in being exceedingly rich in starch and 

 other valuable foodstuffs. Hence, they are much sought 

 after by the inquiring sheep, which eat them off wherever 

 found, as exceptionally nutritious and dainty morsels. 

 Under these circumstances, the subterranean clover has 

 learnt to produce small heads of bloom, pressed close to 

 the ground, in which only the outer flowers are perfect 

 and fertile, while the inner ones are transformed into tiny 

 wriggling corkscrews. As soon as the fertile flowers have 

 begun to set their seed, by the kind aid of the bees, the 

 whole stem bends downward, automatically, of its own 

 accord ; the little corkscrews then worm their way into 

 the turf beneath ; and the pods ripen and mature in the 

 actual soil itself, where no prying ewe can poke an 

 inquisitive nose to grub them up and devour them. 

 Cases like this point in certain ways to the absolute 

 high-water-mark of vegetable ingenuity : they go nearest 

 of all in the plant-world to the similitude of conscious 

 animal intelligence. 



