3'4 



FREAKS OF PLANT LIFE. 



ground, and giving him such a pair of black eyes 

 that he was not seen on parade for a fortnight." 1 

 It has been suggested that, in such trees as the 



Brazil nut, which is pro- 

 duced in forests swarm- 

 ing with monkeys, that 

 the closed capsule is a 

 protection, and that if 

 the capsule had been 

 an open one, not only 

 would Brazil nuts make 

 less appearance in the 

 markets of the world, 

 but the trees would run 

 a risk of extirpation 

 We must confess that 

 we are not prepared to 

 accept this as a sufficient 

 reason for the closed 

 capsule. Monkey pots 

 are open capsules, and 

 the trees are not yet ex- 

 tirpated ; yet monkeys are as delighted with the 

 " sapucaia " as with the " Brazil nut." In such a 

 case speculation does little good, when it is simply 

 an excuse for one's own ignorance. 



Fig. 65. — Cannon Ball (Courou- 

 fiita gitianensis). 



1 Kingsle/s "At Last," p. 275. 



