SEEDS AND FRUITS 165 



the date seed, without seeing the plant 

 in its native habitat, the only manner in 

 which this fruit would secure the dis- 

 semination of the seed would be by 

 means of its pleasant tasting fruit, 

 which would cause it to be sought for 

 food by animals in general, some of 

 which, including man, in using it would 

 carry the fruit some distance from the 

 parent tree. This use of the fleshy 

 portion for food does not in any way 

 affect the germinating power of the seed, 

 so long as it is not cooked. Further- 

 more, the seeds are capable of enduring 

 great extremes of heat and cold, and 

 may lie around on the surface of the 

 soil for months or even years, and then 

 grow when the proper conditions for 

 germination are given them. 



213. Maize, or Indian corn. Maize, or the ordi- 

 nary Indian corn, is a third example of the plants 

 belonging to the same general group as the palms, 

 and it is even more interesting than the fruits 

 just examined. In order to see clearly the pur- 



