XIX 
PLANTS THAT HIDE THEIR BLOSSOMS AND THEIR 
FRUIT UNDERGROUND 
IN es has many ways and means of caring 
for the propagation of her children, and to 
her the humblest are as important as the more fa- 
voured. A very large percentage of plants repro- 
duce by means of seeds; and there are almost as 
many ways of distribution as there are kinds of 
seeds: some roll, tumble, hop, dance, fly, swim, or 
crawl; others jump, dive, canoe, skate, or shoot; 
again, others prefer riding on animals and human 
beings! 
But practically all of these are plants that have 
their fruits and flowers above ground. There are, 
however, some plants which are far too wise to risk 
exposing all their flowers or fruit above the earth, 
so they secretly hide at least part of their flowers, 
and all of their fruit, under the soil. 
One of the commonest of these is the well-known 
peanut, or groundnut. This interesting, clover- 
like plant belongs to the bean family, Leguminose; 
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