THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 63 
but this is only half the stor\',ancl the tamest half at that. 
The truth is that the carpels themselves %into pieces and 
ally ))e sveii in museums. Inlxith plants it is the evapora- 
tion of ri'>^Lure that sets the sprin- and this explains 
why the >.LHis of the New Jersey tea are distributed 
in- moisture puts the capsule under unequarstrain^ until 
the breaking- point is reached when with an audible snap 
it disa])pears in the air throwing the seed more than a 
One of the m )st inLcrcstin- thin-s about the dispersal 
of th.' seeds is tiK- u...ertainity as t.o which capsule will be 
M.va .'UKfa sin-le panicle of fruit maybe some days or even 
'veeks in distributing its seeds. .Vfter the seeds have dis- 
:,peared, the saucer-like disk and calyx, now hard and 
■ u)dv. remain on the plant for a long time. The little 
,r IV saucers held above the snow-clad earth are familiar 
objects to the winter wayfarer. 
The New Jersey tea is valued iu cultivation abroad 
and man\- hybrids between it and other species are said 
to have been produced in Europe. Its clean stems and 
