212 MYSTERIES OF THE FLOWERS 



But all seeds will not swim. Some are made to 

 dive. An interesting instance of these diving seeds 

 occurs in the wild rice. Beside my pond I planted 

 some as an ornament, and it flourished and increased 

 enormously, but never spread downstream, as I 

 expected it to do. Here was a mystery which 

 ultimately explained itself. One day, when I acci- 

 dentally jostled a stalk of the plant, shaking off a 

 swarm of ripe seeds, all, or nearly all, of them fell 

 into the pond and plunged to the bottom. A few, 

 only, stuck point downward into the floating lily- 

 pads, like javelins in a warrior's shield. Examin- 

 ing these seeds, I found that each was like a rocket, 

 with pointed head and long stick, arranged evi- 

 dently to strike the water point downward. Now 

 it is a known fact that wild rice seed, once it is 

 dried, will no longer germinate ; hence all these pre- 

 cautions are to make sure that the seeds shall be 

 planted underwater. 



SEEDS DISPERSED BY BIRDS AND ANIMALS 



We have seen how plants enlist the co-operation 

 of insects to cany their pollen, but, later in the 

 season, they will be found often to employ larger 

 and stronger creatures to bear the burden of their 

 seeds, fruits, and nuts. Very small seeds, it is true. 



