Fruits and Seeds 7 



But the hard shells have other services to per- 

 form. Large round nuts can travel far from the 

 parent tree by a long roll down hill, and all those 

 with woody shells can float, and thus go by water 

 route to new homes. 



The cocoa and cashew nuts, and the seeds of the 

 mahogany tree, sometimes take long voyages. It 

 has been suggested that the mat of hairs which 

 covers the cocoanut is nature's device to prevent 

 the shell from being battered in when waves dash 

 the nut against the rocks. The shell itself, too, 

 is very strong, and, thanks to these safeguards, 

 the cocoanut has been able to float to new-made 

 reefs till it is found on almost every island in the 

 warm seas. 



Seeds from Pacific islands are sometimes 

 brought to North America by the Japanese cur- 

 rent, which strikes the coast of Oregon and Wash- 

 ington. Japanese junks have drifted across on 

 this current, and have actually been cast ashore; 

 so it is very likely that Asiatic seeds have made 

 the voyage, and reached the end of the journey 

 alive. 



Our own native nuts seem unable to survive 

 very long swims. Many kinds contain so much 

 oil that they soon turn rancid — when they lie on 

 the ground they are more likely to decay than to 

 sprout. Most wild nut trees spring from nuts 

 burled by squirrels. 



After the seed has reached its new home it 



