10 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



quite as useful as parachutes when the spores sail down 

 the wind looking for new territory to conquer. More- 

 over, their hj^groscopic character ensures that the spores 

 shall not set out on their travels until a fair day comes 

 and the sailing is good and that the elaters will not be 

 folded again and the spore dropped until a moist interval^ 

 suitable to germination, occurs. 



ORNAMENTAL SEEDS. 



The tropics produce many curious seeds and nuts, not 

 a few of which are used as ornaments by the natives. The 

 Journal of the Society of Arts believes that some of them 

 would be w^orthy of more extended use, and mentions 

 their characteristics a,s follows : 



Horse-eye beans are the seeds of species of Mucuna^ 

 chiefly those of M. urens, and the}^ get their common name 

 from the fact of their appearance being similar to that of 

 the eye of a horse, though somewhat smaller. They are 

 the produce of climbing plants of the tropics, belonging to 

 the order Leguminosee, and are well known to travellers, 

 in consequence of the pods in which the seeds are contain- 

 ed being thickly clothed with sharp, stinging hairs, which 

 are readily detached by the slightest shake. A familiar 

 illustration of the annoyance caused by these hairs pene- 

 trating the skin is to be found in the allied species, Mucu- 

 na pruriens, which furnish the cowhage^ or cowitch of 

 pharmacy, at one time much used as a vermifuge. The 

 horse-eye bean, when fully ripe, dries well and becomes 

 quite hard. It has a brown, pitted^ or rough surface, sur- 

 rounded with a smooth, darker band. Divided in half, 

 hollowed out ; hinged and mounted with a gold or silver 

 rim, these seeds make excellent appendages for watch- 

 chains, or variously treated with similar mountings, they 

 would form quite attractive bracelets. 



Similar results might be obtained with nicker beans 

 (Casalpinia bonducella). There are also the produce of a 

 leguminous plant, two or three seeds being contained in 



