LUTHER BURBANK 



in canyons where forest fires are frequent show- 

 ing that without the aid of the fires, the tree can 

 not perpetuate itself. 



So firmly fixed has this partnership between 

 the fires and this particular pine tree become that 

 its seeds, if planted under other conditions, will 

 not germinate. 



Taken from the* tree, it is impossible to get 

 them to grow even with the greatest care in good 

 soil; but experiment has shown that, if placed for 

 a few hours in boiling water, they will readily 

 sprout even in poor soil. 



Thus, as if through a strange alliance, the 

 forest fires clear the ground, scatter the cones and 

 prepare the seed of this pine tree for germination; 

 and the pine tree, in turn, rebuilds the forest 

 which the fires destroyed. 



* * * * * 



The devil's claw, a tropical relative of our 

 unicorn plant, has developed the power to bite 

 and to hold on with almost bulldog grip, in its 

 scheme of providing new environments for its 

 young. 



This plant, growing low on the ground among 

 other tropical vegetation where the distribution of 

 seed becomes a problem, grows a seed pod of 

 seven inches or more in length. 



Its seed pod, while maturing, is encased in a 



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