Chances of Life 291 



of decay ; but though they may all sprout, only one of 

 the whole number seems to have a chance of doing 

 more under ordinary circumstances. There are from 

 twelve to fifteen nuts — or, strictly speaking, seeds — in 

 each ovary or case, which is filled with the matted 

 roots sent out by one and all. At the lower end, where 

 the fruit was attached to the stalk, there is a small 

 opening, and the fortunate individual which gains pos- 

 session of this exit may eventually burst the case with 

 its roots, and so make its way into the soil. But the 

 shell of the case is extremely hard, and, so far as has 

 been observed, it is not often that even one single 

 plant succeeds in freeing itself. But then, on the other 

 hand, if the shell were less hard, none would probably 

 ever escape the hosts of animals ready to devour them ; 

 for sprouted nuts, taken out of the case and planted, 

 have been found to be all dug up and eaten by rats. 



Such are the difficulties of the Brazil nuts ; but other 

 seeds have equal, if different, obstacles to contend with. 

 Many, if they escape being devoured, are still quite 

 unable to grow as long as they are left lying on the 

 surface of the ground, especially when that surface is 

 covered with the leaves of the parent tree. 



With the exception of the sugar-maple, none of the 

 forest-trees or the evergreens seem to have children 

 growing up round them in Indiana. Seeds of white 

 pines, firs, American poplars, etc., when they fall upon 

 the scattered leaves of the parent tree, simply lie there 

 and die ; and their almost only chance of life seems to 

 be when they fall upon some little bed of earth made 

 by the hogs, which root about among the leaves and 

 turn up mould while they are searching for worms. 



One would not suspect hogs of doing any useful 



