714 



THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLI 



Probably the worms had macerated and eaten off the leaf-Hke part 

 of the samaras but left the seed end uninjured. 



In every collection of seeds some three or four, or more, had 

 sprouted, while outside these collections none of the seeds lying 

 over the ground were found to have sprouted. Most of the sprout- 

 ing seeds showed merely a short radicle and in the many cases in 

 which the seed end of the samara was above ground the radicle 

 was growing down to enter the earth. Some of the seeds that 

 were well buried had advanced farther; in one case the young 

 stem was three inches long and bore a small expanding plumule. 



Though so many young trees were thus started by the aid of 

 earthworms in a situation in which the seeds did not sprout at all 

 unless thus brought into connection with the necessary moisture, 

 few of these seedlings made much further progress, as the condi- 

 tions were too unfavorable. But even after a long dry hot period, 

 on June 27th, some dozens of young trees were found scattered 

 over the bare ground under the more densely shading parts of the 

 mother trees, where they were not destroyed by the lawn mowers 

 as completely as were any that started to grow in the grass. These 

 little tre(>s were thrt^c to four inches in height; the cotyledons were 

 sliiivcllcd wliih' two ..r three pairs of leaves of maple shape were 

 now ill (^\ idciifc. Some of the trees were in groups with remnants 

 of old decaved ^aiiianis ahout them to indicate the former mound 

 of earth, since washed away. Th(^ many trees standing isolated 

 were deeply implanted in the groutxl and ])r()bul)ly stood where 

 earthworms' mounds had been. A photograph taken then shows 

 fix or seven little trees of ditl'erent -size^ all rising up close together 

 from one ()ld heaj> of satnaras. Even these favored few did not 

 survive the iiicreuMiioly adverse conditions, for on August first, 

 when the hard dry ground uixler the parent trees was marked by 

 radiating, branching srn'idxs of l)rown u-ra» thai had diol o\cv 

 their old superficial roots, ail the scrdiin^- trco Iwnl (li^aj)pi'anMl. 



