Marvels of the Universe 939 
shrivel, thrusting out the seeds which continue to cling to their foothold till it gives way with a 
jerk and the seeds are flung out. Lord Avebury records having seen them thrown to a distance of 
nearly ten feet, which is twenty or thirty times greater than the height of the plant itself. This is 
the more remarkable because the scented violet is content to lay its packet of seed on the ground 
beside it, and so allow the seeds to fall out when ripe. 
The pretty cyclamen seems unwilling to part with its offspring, for it hugs the seed-vessels to 
itself by rolling the flower-stems into a tight coil, so that the seeds ripen in the bosom of the parent, 
lying there throughout the winter. But the flower stems rot away, so that when the dry winds blow 
in March the capsules are ready to be rolled along the ground, discharging the seeds as they go. 
Mechanical catapults, on the principle of the dog-violet’s, are common enough in British botany. 
Herb-robert and other wild geraniums are accomplished shooters; the delicate little woodsorrel 
LUMINOUS SHRIMPS. 
These two species inhabit the deep waters of the Indian seas. Of the two the lower has the greater luminosity, but in both 
the phosphorescence appears to proceed from the base of the antennae. In some species the light is a brilliant white, in 
others inclined to green, while the parts of the body which are luminous differ according to the species. 
covers its seeds with a neat cup, which, by suddenly turning inside out when dry, scatters the ten 
shining black seeds to a considerable distance. If you stroll quietly over the common on a hot day 
in May or June, you may hear a series of detonations like fairy sharp-shooting. They come from 
the pods of the gorse and broom, bursting with an audible report and shooting out their seeds. 
The squirting cucumber, which furnishes the drug elaterium, discharges its projectiles, not by 
mechanical means, but through chemical action affecting the juices so as to cause internal pressure 
within the fruit, detaching it suddenly and violently from its footstalk and ejecting the contents. 
LUMINOUS SHRIMPS 
In the depths of the ocean where the light is poor or non-existent, we find a remarkable difference 
in the effect this condition has upon the animals living there. Many of them have their eyes reduced 
to mere rudiments, and the ordinary function of eyes lost altogether. On the other hand, some 
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