BOTANY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 123 



I often go in the garden and touch them pur- 

 posely to see them burst and hear their loud 

 cracking, while the seeds are thrown in every 

 direction, as if from the mouth of a little cannon. 



E. Another, not less curious instance, is in 

 the case of the common Dandelion, each seed 

 of which, when ready for planting, is furnished 

 with a little balloon to carry it off to another 

 place ; when it arrives there the balloon de- 

 composes and nourishes it, answering the double 

 purpose of transport and food. 



L. I suppose the hooked seeds of the Bur- 

 dock are made so purposely, so that it may 

 cling to any passing object and thus be carried 

 to different places. They often stick to me 

 when I go near them, and I have seen great 

 numbers on the wooly backs of sheep and the 

 hair of cattle. 



E. The wings with which many seeds are 

 furnished often carry them across the seas. 

 Linneus said, the seeds of the Erigeron were 

 introduced into Europe from America by seeds 

 wafted across the Atlantic ocean. The seeds, 

 he observed, embank upon the rivers, which de- 

 scend from the highest mountains of Lapland 

 arrive at the middle of the plains and coasts of 



