236 The Botanical Gazette. [April 
lines passing around, very suggestive of stratification. All are 
quite hard, cut only with difficulty with a knife, and when shaken 
together in the hand give that clinking sound, only somewhat 
duller, which is characteristic of pebbles. The mimicry then is that 
of mixed quartz pebbles and covers shape, size, color, luster, hardness 
and stratification. It is so complete and perfect that it can not bere 
garded as mere coincidence. Placed in water the beans are found to 
be buoyant and nine weeks soaking in sea water, at about 70°F. 
seems to make no impression upon them, proving that they might be 
transported to considerable distance by waves and ocean currents. 
It becomes a matter of interest to offer some speculation as to how 
this mimicry may have been produced since the principles involved 
seem to be just the opposite of those which usually hold for seeds. 
In the first place we must assume that we have had a plant grow 
ing within or near tide limits and supplying food for mammals or 
birds, distributed over the adjacent islands. It is true that these seeds 
are now very hard and exceedingly bitter, but these qualities may 
have developed along with the others for which we are to accoullt 
Indeed, they have been asking favors of neither fowl nor beast it 
pleading in their own way to be simply let alone. From any partich 
lar crop of seeds those most conspicuous would be carried away first 
and if any remained they would probably be those, which from their 
external characters, most resembled the’ pebbles about them. It would 
be these from which would be produced the new plants as the parenls 
died out, or from which, when floated to adjacent shores, new colonies 
would be founded. It is believed, eminent authority to the contrat} 
that these would have a sendency to produce seeds somewhat similar. 
Very many of the conspicuous variety would continue to appeat 
through a long series of generations, but it would be these always 
which would be first to be gathered and carried away. This selection 
continued through an indefinite time, combined with the tendenci ® 
transmit the parental characters to the offspring, would bring abo 
the described results. In general, those seeds which fail to = 
distribution are smothered out by the parent plant or by the fen 
ner which gets the start of its fellows. Individual characters 4 
obliterated through cross-fertilization. In the case of nee es 
however, the waves and currents step in and quietly bear them to 
shores where large numbers, which have been subjected to this i 
development. In the case of the Philippines there may t 
with relative rapidity what might otherwise be impossible on acon 
uous stretch of coast alone. Somewhere upon the islands, © 
