Seed-Carriers 



'^33 



When a new ''walk" is wanted, all that is necessary 

 is to inclose a piece of waste ground near an old "walk." 

 The birds eagerly eat the fruit when ripe, and the seeds 

 are dropped, with the result that twelve months after the 

 first rains abundance of young plants are to be seen grow- 

 ing vigorously in all parts of the new inclosure. If not 

 inclosed, the plants would be eaten off or trodden down 

 by wild animals; but this amount of protection is all that 

 they require. 



Some trees seem to be entirely dependent upon birds 

 for getting their seeds scattered, and cannot spread with- 

 out them. The red cedar is apparently one of these; for 

 though introduced into Indiana nearly fifty years ago, it 

 did not run wild, and was not to be found in the forest, 

 until some of the birds became sufficiently familiar with it 

 to venture to eat the seeds. During the last few years 

 numbers of young saplings have made their appearance, 

 and it is likely to be one of the forest-trees of the future. 

 The seeds of the red cedar have so hard an outer covering 

 that gardeners find it well to scald them before planting; 

 and it is therefore, no doubt, a great advantage to them 

 to be swallowed. 



How, except by being swallowed by birds, does the 

 mountain-ash berry get conveyed to the top of high walls, 

 where young trees may sometimes be seen growing.? 

 How, save in this way, does the mistletoe reach the top 

 of the oak? or how do the wild-rose and privet find their 

 way to the walls of Cologne Cathedral? The reader may 

 possibly be inchned to add another ''how" to the series, 

 and ask how, when they get there, do they manage to find 

 soil to germinate and grow in? But as already remarked, 

 a very little soil is enough for seeds to sprout in; and 



