ice boat, it has a sail always spread to the breeze. In this way there
is often nothing to hinder some of the seeds from going a mile or
two in a few minutes, now and then striking some object which jars
off a seed or two. The seeds are very hard, and no doubt purposely
so, that they may not be eaten by insects or birds; but once in moist
soil, the covering slowly swells and decays, allowing the young plant
to escape. Thus the locust seeds are provided with neither legs, wings,
fins, nor do they advertise by brilliant hue and sweet pulp; but they
travel in a way of their own, which is literally on the wings of the
wind.

20. Seeds found in melting snowdrifts.--It will interest the student
of nature to collect a variety of seeds and dry fruits, such as can
be found still on the trees and other plants in winter, and try some
of them when there is snow on the ground and the wind blows, to see
how they behave. Again, when the first snow banks of the early winter
are nearly gone, let him collect and melt a quantity of snow and search
for seeds. By this means he can see, as he never saw before, how one
neighbor suffers from the carelessness of another.

21. Nuts of the basswood carried on the snow.--Here are some notes
concerning the distribution of the spherical nuts of basswood. The
small clusters of fruit project from a queer bract which remains
attached before and after falling from the tree.

[Illustration: FIG. 28.--Fruit and bract of basswood well adapted
for moving before the wind on the snow.]

This bract, when dead, is bent near the middle and more or less twisted,
with the edges curving toward the cluster of nuts. From two to five
nuts about the size of peas usually remain attached till winter, or
even a few till spring. This bract has attracted a good deal of
attention, and for a long time everybody wondered what could be its
use. We shall see. The cluster of nuts and the bract hang down,
dangling about with the least breath of wind, and rattling on the
trees because the enlarged base of the stem has all broken loose
excepting two slender, woody threads, which still hold fast. These
threads are of different degrees of strength; some break loose after
a few hard gales, while others are strong enough to endure many gales,
and thus they break off a few at a time. The distance to which the
fruit can be carried depends on the form of the bract, the velocity
of the wind, and the smoothness of the surface on which