SEED. 
101 
Some fruits, endowed with elasticity, throw their seeds to a con¬ 
siderable distance. In the oat, and in the greater number of terns, 
this elasticity is in the calyx. In the Impatiens , wild cucumber, and 
many other plants, it resides in the capsule. The pericarp of the 
Impatiens* upon being touched, when the seeds are ripe, suddenly 
folds itself in a spiral form, and, by means of its elastic property, 
throws out its seeds. 
Animals perform their part in this economy of nature. Squirrels 
carry nuts into holes in the earth. The Indians had a tradition, that 
these animals planted all the timber of the country. Animals also 
contribute to the distribution of seeds by conveying them in their 
wool, fur, or feathers. 
Although distance, chains of mountains, rivers, and even seas, do 
not present obstacles sufficient to prevent the dispersion of plants, 
climate forms an eternal barrier which they cannot pass. It is not 
unlikely, that in future times the greater part of vegetable tribes 
which grow between the same parallels of latitude , may be com¬ 
mon to the countries lying between them ; this may be the result of 
the industry of man, aided by the efficient means which nature takes 
to promote the same object in the dissemination of seeds ; but no 
human power can ever cause to grow within the polar circles, the 
vegetables of the tropics, or those of the poles at the equator. Na¬ 
ture is here stronger than art/ That something may be done to 
promote the growth of tropical plants in our climate is true, but how 
different are they with us, from the same species in their own genial 
climate 3 —we toil and watch for years to nurture an orange or lem¬ 
on tree, which after all is stinted in its growth, while in its own 
native home the same plant would have grown spontaneously in 
luxuriant beauty. 
The diffusion of seeds completes the circles of vegetation, and 
closes the scene of vegetable life. The shrubs and trees are de¬ 
spoiled of their foliage, the withered herbs.decompose, and restore to 
the earth the elements which they have drawn from its bosom. The 
earth, stripped of its beauty, seems sinking into old &ge :—but, 
although the processes of nature may have been unseen and un¬ 
marked by man, innumerable germs have been formed, which wait 
but the favourable warmth to decorate with new brilliancy this ter¬ 
restrial scene. 
So fruitful is nature, that a surface a thousand times more ex¬ 
tended than that of our globe, would not be sufficient for the vegeta¬ 
bles which the seeds of one single year would produce, if all should 
be developed; but great quantities are eaten by men and animals, or 
left to nerish in unfavourable situations. Some are carried into the 
JL 
clefts of rocks, or buried beneath the ruins of vegetables; here, pro¬ 
tected from the cold, they remain inactive during the winter season, 
and germinate as soon as the early warmth of spring is felt. Then 
the pious botanist, beholding the vegetable species with which the 
earth begins to be clothed, and seeing successively all the types or 
representations of past generations of plants, admires the power of 
the Author of nature, and the immutability of His laws. 
In concluding our examination of the external organs of plants, 
we will give a synoposis of the principal ones, with their subdivi¬ 
sions, as heretofore explained. 
* The Impatiens of the garden is sometimes called Ladies'-slipper , sometimes Bal - 
samine. 
Elasticity of some fruits—Agency of animals—Effect of climate upon the dispersion 
of plants—Circle of vegetation completed—Concluding remarks. 
9* 
