412 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
JBDY^ <k WORM’ MLWMM 
The Doctor’s Talks. 
In my “Talks” last month, of the different 
methods by which seeds were scattered, I gave you 
some of the more striking cases, in which, by the 
explosion or sudden bursting of the seed-pod, its 
contents were thrown to a distance. All seeds are 
not distributed in this forcible manner. We are, of 
course, now talking of what happens with the seeds 
of myriads of wild plants. With those plants that 
we cultivate, the seeds come under human care. 
But the wide-spread natural plantations, the forests, 
the thickets of shrubs, the natural meadows, the 
many plants that live only in the water—all of these 
have, each in its way, a provision for the continu¬ 
ance of its kind through the scattering of the seeds. 
As to Water-Plants. 
You will suppose that it is enough for them to 
float along the stream, and be thus carried to a 
great distance. This is the way by which many are 
distributed, but not the only one. A careful natur¬ 
alist in Europe ascertained that the ducks and other 
water birds, in walking along the margins of ponds, 
had the seeds of some of the plants that grow in 
such places, firmly attached to 
their broad-webbed feet, where 
they remained while the birds 
made long flights, and when 
these birds alighted in other 
ponds, it may be hundreds of 
miles away, these little seeds 
were washed from their feet, 
and thus the plants to which 
they belonged, were established 
at a far distant point. No plants are more widely 
distributed than grasses. As an illustration of this, 
I may say that one of my botanical friends found, 
in the mountains of New Mexico, a grass (Stipa 
Mongholica ), which before had been seen only in 
that part of Asia known as Mongholia, and I col¬ 
lected myself, in Arizona, a grass heretofore known 
only to the Coromandel coast. How they came 
there is a puzzle. While the methods by which 
grasses are distributed are not so striking as those 
given last month, they are just as effective. Those 
who travel on exploring or surveying parties, do 
not always pitch their tents, and make a regular 
camp at night. I know that many a night I have 
been glad to find the sandy margin of a stream, 
where I could spread my blankets on the soft sand, 
and enjoy the bed without the trouble of pitching 
my tent. The next night, after a long journey, the 
blankets were again spread—but no sleep. What 
seemed to be bites, attacked me on one side ; turn¬ 
ing to the other side—more pricks and bites. Find¬ 
ing sleep impossible, I took my blankets to the 
camp-fire, and by its light found dozens of 
The Burs of the Bur-Grass, 
that had been taken up from the soft sand of the 
night before ; this time I chanced to turn the blan¬ 
ket, and come in contact with the burs, and sleep 
was impossible. In many places on our coast, and 
all along the sandy margins of the far western 
rivers, grows this Bur-Grass (Cenchi us tribuloides, as 
the botanists call it). This low, spreading grass, 
bears its seeds in miniature burs, of which one is 
shown in figure 1. A dozen or so of these are in a 
cluster on the stem of the grass, and they do not 
require to be asked twice ; at the slightest touch 
they leave the stem and come along, whether the 
touch is made by the lower part of one’s panta¬ 
loons, by the leg of a mule, or the touch of one’s 
Fig. 3.— THE EUROPEAN FEATHER GRASS. 
blanket, should it be spread on the plant. The 
points and hooks on the burs are as sharp as 
needles, and you can understand that they can 
make unpleasant bed-fellows. Of course there is 
but one thing to do—pick every bur out of the 
blanket—and many a time have I done it. Of 
course I did not care where the burs went to, but I 
have no doubt that I have often been instrumental 
in making Bur-Grass grow in places where it did 
not grow before. There are 
A tri'eat many other Grasses, 
with much smaller fruits, that find their way into 
the traveller’s blanket and clothing, and annoy him 
to such an extent, that he is obliged to search for 
and pick them out, thus aiding in the scattering of 
their seeds. The Wild Oat, so common on the Pa¬ 
cific Coast, apd of which our cultivated one is a 
form, has upon the covering of each grain a long, 
twisted bristle, which, by changes of moisture, wet 
and dry weather, will twist and untwist in a striking 
manner, and in time jerk the seed along to a con¬ 
siderable distance. This is seen in a most striking 
I manner in what is called 
The Animated or Sensitive Oat. 
The seeds of this are sold at the seed stores, to 
be cultivated as a curiosity. The right hand of fig¬ 
ure 2 shows one of these oats, with two grains, as 
they usually grow, together. Each grain-covering 
has a long, bent bristle, or awn, and with every 
change, whether to dry or damp, each one begins 
to twist, or untwist; the bent portions cross and 
come in contact with one another, and as the 
motion goes on, a jerk takes place, and the oats 
are thrown to a distance of several inches. At the 
left hand is shown one of the oats, with artificial 
wings to represent an insect. In a succession of 
dry days and damp nights, these oats will travel 
for a long distance. No grass has such a showy 
arrangement for the distribution of its seeds, as 
The European Feather-Grass. 
This grass (Stipa pennata), is so very beautiful, that 
it is often cultivated in gardens for the sake of its 
long feathery plumes, which are so much used in 
grass bouquets. Many years ago I discovered, in 
what is now Arizona, a grass that is essentially the 
same. To show the seed and its plume as in fig. 3, 
we have been obliged to bend it up to save room. 
As it grows, the plume portion is straight, and at 
right angles with the stouter twisted part. The 
lower and swollen part, contains the seed; this has 
a point at the lower end as sharp as a needle, and 
all its surface is clothed with short, stiff hairs, 
pointing upwards. At the top of this part is a stiff, 
twisted portion, and still above, is a long, feathery 
plume. AVherever this seed alights, the pointed 
end enters the ground ; the wind blows the plume, 
and the seed goes further into the earth ; should 
a rain come, the coiled portion will untwist, and 
force the seed still further into the soil; so take it 
altogether, the seed of this grass is very sure to get 
planted.I was much interested one day this 
summer, in watching 
The “Keys” of' the Red Maple. 
The Red Maple, perhaps you know, ripens its 
seed about the first of June, and the young plants 
come up in a very short time, while the 
seed of the Sugar Maple ripens in the 
fall, and the seedling plants do not 
appear until the next spring. You have 
seen these seeds—or properly fruits— 
called “keys.” Figure 4 shows one of 
them ; it has a one-sided wing, with 
a swelled place at the lower end, in 
which is the seed proper. It was very 
interesting to see these drop from a 
tree opposite one of the windows of 
my room on a still day. This wing you 
will see is all on one side, and as it falls 
it begins to twist, and soon spins very rapidly, but 
instead of falling directly downward, it being load¬ 
ed on one side, is carried to quite a distance in a 
slanting direction. More than this ; when the seeds 
fall on very light soil, a slight breeze will lift them, 
and acting on the one-sided wing, tend to screw 
them into the soil; this is especially the case where 
several lie together, they form little clusters which 
the wind tends to force into the soil. I did not 
complete my observations on these maple seeds, 
and hope that some of you who have Red Maple 
trees, will next year watch, and tell me what you 
see of the action of the wind upon the “ keys.” 
Fig. 4. 
Our Puzzle Box. 
CLASSICAL ACROSTIC. 
The initials give a well-known, oft-quoted line, 
from one of (Jowper’s poems. 
1. A nymph of Crete. 
2. An Athenian princess. 
3. One of the Muses. 
4. A celebrated god of antiquity. 
5. A deity of the Egyptians. 
6. Certain inferior deities. 
7. One of the Argonauts. 
8. A king of Thrace. 
9. A sign of the Zodiac. 
10. A divinity of the Romans. 
11. A queen of Lydia. 
13. A goddess of woods and groves. 
13. A famous Archer. 
14. The first king of Arcadia. 
15. One of the oceanides. 
16. A son of Somnus. 
17. One of the Pleiades. 
18. One of the most ancient gods. 
19. A son of Jupiter and Europa. 
20. The goddess of sensual pleasures. 
21. A king of Argos. 
22. A votary of the Muses. Mrs. Mayo. 
ANAGRAMS. 
6. Out-snore D. D. 
7. Cut a deed. 
8. Fire-iron. 
9. Mr. Ives’ pies. 
10. Gentle wish. 
1. Nice tea-sets. 
2. A bit done. 
3. And it replies. 
4. Should hoe. 
5. Mine agree. 
PLACES IN VIRGINIA ENIGMATICALLY EXPRESSED. 
1. An article of furniture and a part of a river. 
2. An important article at a wedding and a lovely 
place to walk in. 
3. A boy’s name and a weight. 
4. Fuel and part of a gun. 
5. A poet and real estate. 
6. A wild flower and an eminence. Effie. 
