274 Seed-Carriers 



do, much valuable service in the way of carrying 

 seeds. 



Seed cannot be sown to any purpose until it is ripe, 

 and it would therefore be simply wasted if the birds 

 carried it off too soon. But it is safe enough from 

 them while it is unripe, for the eatable part, the flesh 

 surrounding the seed, is unripe too, as the birds very 

 well know, and they leave it severely alone. Green 

 fruit they do not like, probably because it is indiges- 

 tible ; for one would not suppose the flavour to be of 

 much consequence. 



The fruits of the bird-cherry, hawthorn, ash, sloe, 

 and many others are of a size to be swallowed whole ; 

 and as, to our taste at all events, they have no flavour 

 to recommend them even when ripe, a little unripeness 

 would not seem to matter much, except as regards the 

 seed. But for this it would matter greatly, and the 

 birds are therefore warned off until it is ready to 

 benefit by their attention. When the right time has 

 come, the fruit changes colour and becomes more con- 

 spicuous — a notice which is perfectly understood. 



Red, yellow, purple, and black are the most usual 

 colours of ripe fruit, and these the birds seem, there- 

 fore, to understand best ; for they seldom touch white 

 currants till the red are gone, though the white are the 

 sweeter of the two ; and they have been observed to 

 leave unnoticed a holly-tree bearing yellow berries, 

 while they stripped other trees near of their ordinary 

 red ones. Yellow holly-berries being uncommon, these 

 were probably considered to be still unfit for eating. 



Though birds swallow their own small fruits whole, 

 they seem to appreciate the sweeter flavour of those 

 which man has improved by cultivation. But as seed- 



