Seasonal Notes. — August 



163 



can it be considered as very little. It is an annual, and grows 

 from seeds which have fallen into the earth. Having im- 

 planted itself on the stem of its unconscious host — heath, 

 thyme, gorse, clover or other plant — it allows its earth-roots to 

 die, and henceforth lives suspended in the air. Lindley says 

 that " it feeds only upon dews and rain," but there can be no 

 doubt that it robs its host of sap. It is a true parasite, not, 

 like ivy, simply a climber. 1 



Hazel nuts are now of full size, and their shells are hard. 

 They are wholly filled, however, with " pith." This pith is 

 a firm but succulent structure, which in its present state 

 might be taken, when cut across, for the nut or kernel itself, 

 excepting that it does not glisten and is not crisp. It wholly 

 fills the shell and adheres to it. The germ or kernel of the 

 nut must be looked for with care or it will be missed. 2 It is 

 not bigger than a pin's head, and is hung in the apex of the 

 pith, just under the pointed end of the shell, and in contiguity, 

 of course, with what remains of the stigma. This minute germ 

 will display a wonderful power of development. Attracting 

 nutriment to itself through its umbilical cord it will eat up and 

 transform the whole of the pith and literally take its place. 

 Much to the same end — though with widely differing detail — 

 the germinal spot in a hen's egg develops and eats up the yolk 

 and white, and the organised chick comes to fill the egg-shell. 

 Note that in neither case is any provision made for expansion 

 of the shell itself, which is fully formed from almost the first. 



The student should gather a nut once a week, and cut 

 it across and observe the growth of the kernel (or seed) and 

 the disappearance of the white nutritive pith. 



1 There are three British species of Dodder, but excepting in size their 

 differences are not great. 



We have always plenty of the lesser Dodder on the Haslemere hills, and 

 shall be pleased to supply specimens. 



2 These notes were written on July 26. 



