368 NATURE STUDY AND LIFE 



streams, the shores of ponds, the gutters of city streets, — 

 where they quickly germinate (except the red elm, which 

 will not sprout until the following spring) and, if condi- 

 tions remain favorable, produce vigorous seedlings the 

 same season. 



2. Nut seeds that ripen in the fall. — Oak acorns, chestnuts, 

 black walnuts, butternuts, hickories, hazels, and lindens 

 fall under their parent trees, and their rounded forms 

 enable them to roll into holes or down the hillsides. The 

 trees cover them with their leaves, and the winter snows 

 bury them. The spring freshets carry many of them down 

 the gullies and ravines and leave them buried in masses 

 of dead leaves, leaf mould, and rubbish along their courses. 

 This class of trees also, by their nutritious nuts, seeks 

 the aid of animals in the dissemination of the seeds ; the 

 rows of nut trees along our stone walls show how well 

 the squirrels, especially, have done their work. To this 

 class may be added also the seeds of our cone-bearing 

 trees, the pines, spruces, and larches, but they are largely 

 disseminated by the winds. 



3. Seeds in fleshy fruits. — Among these are the wild 

 cherries, hawthorns, hackberries, plums, mulberries, dog- 

 woods, and crab apples. The fruits of most of these roll 

 into holes or down the streams with the nuts, but they 

 also hire the birds to plant and scatter, and most of the 

 trees of this class that we have were probably cared for in 

 this way. 



4. Dry seeds that ripen in the autumn. — The ashes, birches, 

 hard maples, box elders, and ironwoods, like the soft maple 

 and elm, trust their seeds to the winds and waters to dis- 

 seminate and plant. 



