75 



often prettily variegated with nunierou.s white dots a.s in 

 birch, willow, alder, sassafras, benzoin, etc. ; pale gray 

 blotches ai)pear on some mai)les, and larger white patches 

 on Platanus, while the whole trunk of canoe and white 

 l>irch with age becomes a staring, chalky white. 



SEEDS. 



The colors of seeds take a range nearly e(iualling that of 

 flowers, every hue being found from the white of pumpkin 

 to l)lack of watermelon. The garden bean, perha{)s, pre- 

 sents the greatest variety of colors and variegation in its 

 different kinds ; it is quite astonishing, as these seeds do 

 not receive the direct rays of the sun, l)eing enclosed in a 

 pod, and yet they are often })rettily marked. Indian corn 

 is red, yellow or blue. 



The order of development of seed colors as in flowers, is 

 not uniform. Notice a few examples from small seeds : 



SteUaria media : the transparent ovule flrst becomes 

 white, then orange, brown, and black in succession. 



Sonchui< oleraceous, goes from white through lemon-yellow 

 to brown. 



Oenothera biennis, from white to brown ; no yellow. 



Bcqytisia tincloria, from green, through pur[)lisli-brovvn to 

 black-purple. 



Asparagus, from a translucent green directly to jet-l)lack. 



The colors of different berries beginning usuall}^ with 

 green, show many beautiful transitions before reaching their 

 flnal hue. The gradations of Asparagus berry for instance, 

 are green, olive green, Indian red to scarlet. Others 

 change from green, through red to blue, i)urple, or black; 

 green directly to vvhite ; green through yellow to scarlet ; 

 and white through green to scarlet (Gaultheria), etc. 



