80 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 
seeds a considerable distance. This movement is 
as quick as a flash of lightning, and the seed-pod 
is usually turned inside out. The oxalis holds its 
seed-pods erect, daring any one to touch them! 
And if one does, away shoot the seeds to a new 
home where they will germinate and grow as new 
plants. This is their only method of getting away 
from home; if they did not shoot out into the 
world, they would continue to sow their seeds in 
the same place until they would crowd each other 
out. 
The witch-hazel, touch-me-not, squirting cucum- 
ber, balsam, wild geranium, peas and vetches, mus- 
tard, and castor bean—all these send their children 
into the world by shooting or squirting them far 
from the parent plant. Some of these fruits act 
as regular sling-shots, hurling their seeds some- 
times, as in the case of the witch-hazel, twenty to 
twenty-five feet; others, like the balsam vine and 
the squirting cucumber, act like a squirting gun; 
while the touch-me-not, when touched or shaken, 
suddenly twists back, and shoots its seeds out with 
such force that they rattle like bird-shot among 
the dead leaves. Observe the fruit-pods of beans 
and peas, especially when they are first exposed to 
a dry atmosphere, and this wonderful shooting 
phenomenon will soon be apparent. Or collect some 
