DISTRIBUTION OF SPORES AND SEEDS. 285 



they also provide suitable landing places, and exclude ineffi- 

 cient visitors by obstructions both inside and outside the 

 flower. 



Seeds are distributed by being pinched or slung out by the 

 drying seed pod, or shot out with the juice of the seed vessel 

 when it breaks loose. Currents of water may float fruits or 

 seeds long distances ; winds also carry them, especially if light 

 or winged. Animals transport fruits or seeds which adhere to 

 their bodies in mud or by hooks. Seeds in edible fruits may 

 also escape destruction and be dropped far from the place 

 where they were eaten. 



Conclusion. — Study of plants in relation to their surround- 

 ings, therefore, yields the conclusion that these organisms are 

 wonderfully plastic, responding either temporarily or perma- 

 nently to every change in conditions. It is greatly to be de- 

 sired that the too common thought of plants as only things to 

 he classified may be replaced by the conception of them as 

 beings at work, to be studied alive. 



