THE PLANT AS A PARENT 



941 



a curious fact that just at the time when 

 the seeds are ready for dispersal the fmit 

 or berry becomes a bright colour, as if 

 the plant were anxious to attract attention 

 to its progeny. In many of these cases the 

 seed is protected by a hard co\-ering that 

 is quite unaffected by the digesti\'e juices 

 of any animal wliich should happen to 

 swallow it when feasting on the fruit. It 

 is not always that the seeds of fruits and 

 berries are swallowed by the bird or animal 

 acting as the distributing agent. It has 

 been noticed elsewhere that the seeds of 

 the Mistletoe are fi^equently carried about 

 on the beaks of thrurhes. Man}^ of the 

 seeds, such as Chestnuts, Beech-masts. 

 Acorns, which are edible in themselves, 

 are destroyed in large numbers by the 

 animal life of the country. On the other 

 hand, owing to their value as food, a large 

 proportion of them will be carried to 

 considerable distances by squirrels and 

 other creatures, and perhaps dropped, or 

 stored away and forgotten altogether. In 

 a shghtly different way enormous numbers 

 of seeds which are eaten by birds rely for 

 their dispersal on the fact that whilst 

 feasting the winged creatures wiU almost 

 certainly pick up a few on their feet. In 

 tliis manner they wiU, of course, be carried 

 to great distances. 



A very interesting group of plants are 

 those which, by sheer force, expel their 

 seeds from the cases. One of the most 

 curious examples in the world is certainly 

 the Sand Box tree, the seed case of which, 

 as it dries, becomes in a state of con- 

 siderable tension. At a certain stage of 

 its development the large capsule bursts. 



hurhng the hard seeds with great force in 

 all directions. It is said that passers-by 

 have not infrequently been injured by the 

 flying seeds. In much the same way the 

 Para Rul)ber tree scatters its seeds afar, 

 and when these are ripening in a planta- 

 tion the sound resembles the constant 

 firing of pistols. To come to more 

 homely instances, the common Balsams 

 of our gardens possess seed vessels 

 which are veritable popguns. When the 

 seeds are ripe for ejectment the five 

 divisions of the capsule burst open and 

 throw out the contents with a good deal 

 of violence. The pretty httle EngUsh 

 Wood Sorrel offers another example of 

 those plants which scatter their seeds 

 with force. As soon as the seeds are 

 ready for dispersion the capsule sphts 

 open, and the strong tense tissue covering 

 the seeds being suddenly ruptured, throws 

 them to a considerable distance. 



Not a few of the pod-bearing plants 

 contrive to have their seeds scattered 

 afar by means of their legmnes, which, 

 when dry, curl up in spiral fashion and so 

 eject their contents. A very simple 

 device 

 is that 

 adopted by 

 the Poppy, 

 in which the 

 capsules 

 scatter the 

 seeds as the\' 

 are blown 

 backwards 

 and forwards 

 bv the wind. 



THE NORMAL DEVELOI-'MKNT OF A BEAN. 

 The shoot Rocs up and the root ftoes down. 



