THE PLANT AND THE SEASONS 29 



soil go a long way towards covering in the seeds. 

 Seed vessels with long appendages, such as those 

 of the Sycamore and Lime, may often be seen 

 pulled down into the soil, having been treated in 

 much the same way that the worms deal with 

 leaves. Acorns, beech-masts and other edible 

 seeds are stored away in holes in large quan- 

 tities by small animals, such as squirrels and 

 dormice, which inhabit our woods; the majority 

 of them are forgotten altogether by the little 

 creatures, and many a tree must owe its start in 

 life to the efforts of these tiny gardeners. In addi- 

 tion to the work of these animal agents, the heavy 

 rains of autumn must wash many of the smaller 

 seeds into the soil, whilst the shower of drifting 

 leaves will cover up even a larger number still. 



What an alteration is brought about in the 

 condition of the seed by the coming of the spring ! 

 With the increasing powers of the sun the cold 

 earth becomes warmer every day, and this rise 

 in temperature is the signal for which the seeds 

 have been waiting. The gentle showers of spring 

 water the earth, and the moisture soaking inwards 

 through the husks of the seeds stirs the living 

 matter to activity. As we shall see elsewhere, the 

 store of food materials is at this time converted 

 into a form available for the immediate use of 



