190 



Marvels of the Universe 



Giant Tortoise, which was found at Colombo when the island was taken over bv the British 

 in 1796 At the date of our occupation it was probably at least fifty years old ; its age 

 at the time of its death was doubtless not less than a century and a half. 



Another record is formed by the celebrated ^Marion's Tortoise, which, till recently, at an\- rate, 

 was living at the Artillery Barracks at Port Louis, Mauritius. This monster was brought to 

 Mauritius in 1766, and as it had attained its present dimensions in 1810, it may be presumed to 

 have been at least fifty years old when imported ; so that its present age can scarcely be much, 

 if at all, short of a couple of centuries ; and there is another claimant (recenth? living at Tring) to 

 a very great age. 



Photos da] lllugh Main. 



SEED PARACHUTES. 



These members of the Dandelion family bear their seeds clustered together on the top of their stalk. Each seed \z situated 

 at the base of a thin hair, whose head branches out into a fairy parachute, which is designed to carry the seed away from the 

 parent. The first picture is of the puff of a Colt's-foot. and the last two show the unripened and ripe heads of the ordinary 

 Dandelion. 



SEED DISPERSAL BY PARACHUTES AND LIFE-BUOYS 



BY SIR HERBERT M.AXWELL, F.R.S. 



Ix no class of living organisms is the evidence of design more convincing than in plants. Leaving 

 out of account bacteria, diatoms and other vegetable micro-organisms, plants are denied the power 

 of locomotion. They are provided, therefore, with an exceeding variety of appliances for the 

 dispersal of their seeds, so that each race may have a fair chance of colonizing fresh ground. One 

 of the readiest means of transport is the wind ; but to take advantage thereof the plant must equip 

 its seeds with mechanical aids to locomotion. 



There are many plants which rely upon parachutes for dispersal of their seeds. Familiarity is 

 apt to breed contempt, or at least indifference, in our regard for the crown of seeds in the common 

 dandehon ; but the fact that it is so common is in itself a warrant for the efficacy of this mode of 

 dispersal. Nobody inspecting it through an ordinary pocket lens can fail to marvel at the exquisite 



