THE COSMIC ADAPTATION OF THE SEED 443 



concluding these introductory remarks to this chapter, I would 

 point out that we on this planet, with otir limited experience 

 of conditions of existence, are not in a position to judge of 

 " misfits " in nature. Beyond us lies the cosmos, of which the 

 earth forms a part, and that an insignificant one ; and we 

 should surely be more liberal in judging nature when lack of 

 harmony occurs if we were to regard it in this light only as 

 connected with our planet. What is a disharmony on earth 

 may be in tune with the life of the cosmos. For the naturalist 

 the " great beyond " is an unexplored region. Yet it may 

 prove to be full of suggestiveness in matters terrestrial. The 

 life of one world may be the complement of another ; and 

 both worlds may be largely unintelligible when viewed alone. 

 Let us hope that in time enlightenment will come. 



In this chapter I propose, therefore, to avail myself of the 

 privilege of giving freer play to the fancy than a strict 

 adherence to the ordinary canons of scientific research usually 

 allows. This licence I venture to claim as a recompense for 

 the tedious labour involved in the elaboration of the abundant 

 " facts and figures " in the preceding chapters. When dealing 

 with the rest-period, one of the most mysterious features in 

 the history of the seed, I treated the subject on orthodox lines. 

 Here it is my intention to break through the bounds that 

 there held me in check. 



In pursuing such speculations as those concerned with the The signifi- 

 significance of the seed, one finds oneself in difficulties at the seed.^ ° ^ 

 outset, not only on account of the number of roads approach- 

 ing the subject, but also because it is by no means easy to 

 appreciate their relative value. Those starting-points that 

 present us with the largest view of the matter will probably 

 be the safest for a first selection ; and, this being granted, 

 we have to choose whether we will deal with the conditions 

 of plant-life in which the seed-stage is involved or with the 

 general biological phenomena of the seeds themselves. 



One consideration has determined my choice, and it is 



