58 
in both cases they open at the higher end: 
if they opened below, the seeds would simply 
drop to the ground, but as it is they he in 
the cup till some high wind gives it a good 
shake and throws them to a distance. 
Perhaps you will say that these are mere 
fancies—purely accidental coincidences. Let 
Fig. 4 (Viola hirtd). 
Animal Life 
| Hence, I think, we see that the arrange- 
ment of the capsule in each species is 
that most suitable to the general habit of 
| the plant. 
In many plants with seed capsules 
—such as poppies (Fig. 5) and cam- 
: panulas (bell flowers)—the capsules when 
ripe open at the top. The first high 
y wind swings the cup from side to side 
and thus scatters the seeds. 
There are a great many campanulas, 
j and there is a curious difference in the 
VA capsules; some open at the free end, some 
at the base. Why is this? I have sug- 
gested that it depends on the position 
assumed by the capsules. In some species 
a they stand upright and in these they open 
at the summit: in others the capsules hang 
\ down and these open at the base. Thus 
prs set =f 
us then 
look at 
our trees 
and shrubs 
as a group. 
Winged seeds are only useful when they start from a 
certain height. They occur in many trees—ash, lime, 
maple, sycamore (Fig. 6), pine, fir, beech, and horn- 
beam—but not on low plants. Hooked seeds, on the 
contrary, would be useless on high trees or even on 
shrubs above the height of a horse or cow. They 
occur on docks, burrs, and many other herbs, but are 
not found on a single tree or even on any shrub. 
Edible seeds especially characterise low trees and shrubs 
loved by birds—such as the cherry, holly, ivy, yew, 
nut, &c. These, probably every one will agree, cannot 
be mere coincidences. 
One of the most remarkable seeds is that of a rare 
English grass, the Stipa pennata (Fig. 7). The actual 
Fig. 3 (Viola GEM) 
