THE POP-GUN 



86 THE BROOK BOOK 



feet. And she herself may be jostled and even 

 pushed off the earth by hustling young touch-me- 

 not on the ledge beside her. 



Pop ! pop I pop ! A bombardment has evidently 

 begun, and missiles are flying into the enemies' 

 country. The jewel-weed does not stop to take 

 aim. The other plants in the shady, moist bed of 

 the stream do not return the fire. 

 They have their own little games to 

 play. The struggle will come in 

 the spring between the young plants 

 when the supply of food is to be 

 divided. The jewel-weed has begun 

 to climb up the bed of the ravine. 

 Give it time, and it will reach the upper source. 

 The plants farther up the stream throw seeds in 

 every direction; up, up they go, adding new ter- 

 ritory every year. 



The jewel-weed's pop-gun is worth close exami- 

 nation. The pod is a sort of five-shooter, but is 

 not always fully loaded. The outside cover of the 

 pod is so constructed that a slight pinch will cause 

 it suddenly to split into five flat strips each of 

 which coils spirally with startling suddenness. On 

 examining what remains after the seeds have sped 

 away, one finds the central axis against which the 

 seeds rested. Attached to its apex, the point fur- 

 thest from the stem which bore it, are the five 

 tightly coiled spirals whose prompt action results 

 in the scattering of the seed. Left to itself the 

 pod does not wait to be pinched. When the time 

 comes it goes off automatically. 



