PLANTS CARRY LIFE INSURANCE 141 
plant actually buries its children, before they are 
born! 
A most interesting method of insurance is used 
by pussy willows. In the very early spring, the 
baby catkins are covered with downy hairs, which 
keep them warm, and later the seeds are snugly 
wrapped in small pods. The willow takes no risks, 
and its children stand a good chance of success in 
life. 
The buttonwood, unlike many trees and small 
plants which send their seed-babies into the world 
in the autumn, keeps its children at home, attached 
to the parent tree by means of slender ropes or 
cords. These seed-children are covered with soft, 
brown hairs, and are massed together in round balls; 
and all through the long winter they swing to and 
fro in the wind, rocking like babies in a cradle, 
perfectly protected from the cold. When spring 
comes, the big seed-pods open, and away go the 
hundreds of seeds, all seeking a pleasant place to 
live. 
Plants are frequently self-sacrificng. The 
mother plant is just as much concerned about the 
welfare of her offspring as are human mothers. 
Each little seed goes forth into the big world care- 
fully prepared to begin the struggle of life for 
itself. 
