lxxiv 
ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE MEMBERS 
OF THE 
SOUTH AFRICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, 
On AvuaustT 29, 1894. 
By THE PRESIDENT, R. MARLOTH, PH.D., M.A. 
On THE MEANS OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF SEEDS IN THE SOUTH 
AFRICAN FLORA. 
In most learned bodies and societies it is customary for the president 
to deliver an address some time during the year of his office. In some 
cases this is done at the beginning, in others at the closure of the term 
of office ; and as our Society has adopted the latter mode, I to-night 
enjoy the privilege of addressing you on a subject connected with the 
science which, in spite of the pressure of professional work, has re- 
tained such a charm for me that I cannot refrain from devoting many 
an hour to further researches in its fields. The result of this work 
will appear insignificant in comparison with those of the labours of my 
predecessor in this chair, for the problem mentioned in his last address, 
viz., the exact determination of the parallax of the sun, is of such a 
magnitude and importance that it appeals to the whole of the scientific 
world, and that the results of these researches, published lately, attract 
universal attention. My subject must be satisfied with the interest 
which is bestowed on it by a much smaller community, but as the 
object of our Society is the advancement of philosophy in its entire- 
ness, every stone that helps to further or to adorn its building will be 
welcome. Ona former occasion I had the honour to lay before you 
some notes on the adaptation of the plants of South Africa to the 
peculiar conditions of the climate—conditions which in many cases 
have produced most marvellous, one might almost say most ingenious, 
forms of vegetable life. 
To-night I beg leave to direct your attention to another chapter of 
the life-history of our plants, namely, to the ways and means by which 
they secure the spreading of their seeds. One of the distinctions 
between animals and plants is that the former possess the power of 
voluntary locomotion, and the latter not. This is only generally true, 
for there are many exceptions on both sides among the lower forms of 
organic life. Many animals are fixed permanently to their locality, 
and many plants move about in such a way that, although it cannot be 
