Fruits and Seeds. 



189 



seeds, the capsules open, not at the bottom, as 

 one might perhaps have been disposed to expect, 

 but at the top. A good illustration is afforded 

 by the well-known case of the common Poppy 

 (fig. 74), in which the upper part of the capsule 

 presents a series of little doors (fig. 74, a), through 

 which, when the plant is swung by the wind, 

 the seeds come out one by one. The little doors 

 are protected from rain by overhanging eaves, 

 and are even said to shut of themselves in wet 

 weather. The Bellflowers (Campanula] are also 

 interesting from this point of view, because some 

 species have the capsules pendent, some upright, 

 and those which are upright open at the top, while 

 those which are pendent do so at the base. 



