168 THE STORY OF THE PLANTS. 



of the fruits which I have hitherto mentioned 

 is a fruit at all in the common or popular accep- 

 tation of the word. They are only at best what 

 most people call pods or capsules. A true fruit, 

 as most people think of it, is coloured, juicy, 

 pulpy, sweet, and edible. How did such fruits 

 come into existence, and what is the use of 

 them ? 



Well, just as certain plants desire to attract 

 insects to fertilise their flowers, so do other 

 plants desire to attract birds and beasts to 

 disseminate their fruits for them. If any fruit 

 happened to possess a coloured and juicy outer 

 coat, or to show any tendency towards the 

 production of such a coat, it would sooner or 

 later be eaten by animals. If the animal 

 digested the actual seed, however, so much 

 the worse for the plant, and we shall see by 

 and by that most plants take great care to 

 prevent their true seeds being eaten and assimi- 

 lated by animals. But if the seed was very 

 small and tough, or had a stony covering, it 

 would either be passed through the animal's body 

 undigested, or else thrown away by him when 

 he had finished eating the pulpy exterior. So, 

 many plants have acquired fruits of this de- 

 scription — edible fruits, intended for the attrac- 

 tion of birds and animals. As a rule the animals 

 disperse the seeds in the well-manured soil near 

 their own nests or lairs, so that the young plants 

 produced from such fruits start in life under 

 exceptional advantages. 



Fruits that seek to attract animals use much 

 the same baits to allure them in the way of 



