SEED. 101 



Some fruits, endowed wilh elasticit}', throw their seeds to a con- 

 siderable distance. In the oat, and in the greater mimber of ferns, 

 this elasticity is in the calyx. In the Impatiens, wild cucumber, and 

 many other plants, it resides in the t apsule. The pericarp of the 

 Impatiens* upon being' touched, when the seed? are ripe, suddenly 

 folds itself in a spiral form, and, by means of its elastic property, 

 throws out its seeds. 



Animals perform their part in this economy of nature. Squirrels 

 carry nuts into holes in the earth. The Indians had a tradition, that 

 these animals planted all the timber of the country. Animals -also 

 contribute to the distribution of seeds by conveying them in their 

 wool, fur, or feathers. 



Although distance, chains of mountains, rivers, and even seas, do 

 not present obstacles sufficient to prevent the dispersion of plants, 

 climate forms an eternal barrier which they cannot pass. It is not 

 unlikely, that in future times the greater part of vegetable tribes 

 which grow between the same parallels of latitude, may be com- 

 mon to the countries lying between them ; this may be the result of 

 the industry of man, aided by the efficient means which nature takes 

 to promote the same object in the dissemination of seeds ; but no 

 human power can ever cause to grow within the polar circles, the 

 vegetables of the tropics, or those of the poles at the equator. Na- 

 ture is here stronger than art. That something may be done to 

 promote the growth of tropical plants in our climate is true, but how 

 different arelthey with us, from the same species in their own genial 

 chmate ; — we toil and watch for years to nurture an orange or lem- 

 on tree, which after all is stinted in its growth, while in its own 

 native home the same plant M'ould have grown spontaneously in 

 luxuriant beauty. 



The diffusion of seeds completes the circles of vegetation, and 

 closes the scene of vegetable life. The shrubs and trees are de- 

 spoiled of their foliage, the withered herbs decompose, and restore to 

 the earth the elements which they have drawn from its bosom. The 

 earth, stripped of its beauty, seems sinking into old age ;— but, 

 although the processes of nature may have" been unseen and un- 

 marked by man, innumeral^le germs have been formed, which wait 

 but the favourable warmth to decorate with new brilliancy this ter- 

 restrial scene. 



So fruitful is nature, that a surface a thousand times more ex- 

 tended than that of our globe, would not be sufficient for the vegeta- 

 bles which the seeds of one single year would produce, if all should 

 be developed ; but great quantitfes are eaten by men and animals, or 

 left to perish in unfavourable situations. Some are carried into the 

 clefts of rocks, or buried beneath the ruins of vegetables ; here, pro- 

 tected from the cold, they remain inactive during the winter season, 

 and germinate as soon as the early warmth of spring is felt. Then 

 the pious botanist, beholding the vegetable species with which the 

 earth begins to be clothed, and seeing successively all the types or 

 representations of past generations of plants, admires the power of 

 the Author of nature, and the immutability of His laws. 



In concluding our examination of the external organs of plants, 

 we will give a synoposis of the principal ones, with their subdivi- 

 sions, as heretofore explained. 



* The Impatiens of the garden is sometimes called Ladies' -slipper, sometimes Bal 

 samine. 



Elasticity of some fruits— Agency of animals— Eflect of climate upon the dispersion 

 of plants— Circle of vegetation completed— Concluding remarks. 

 9* 



