Democratic Sentinel, Volume 13, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 September 1889 — Distribution of Seeds. [ARTICLE]

Distribution of Seeds.

Mr. Darwin found thaf the small portions of earth attaching to the feet of migrating birds contained seed. Nine grains of earth on the leg of the woodcock contained a seed of the toad rush. From six and a half ounces of earth rolled into a ball and adhering to the 1 eg of a wounded partridge lie raised eighty-two separate plants of five species. Migrating birds often frequent the edges of ponds ere their departure, and in six and three quarter ounces of such mud he raised under ghss 537 plants. Seeds furnished with crowns hooks, or prickles readily stick to the plumage of birds, which allsuchbirds, and especially such wanderers as the albatross, might carry long distances. Applying these facts to the case of the Azores, Mr. Wallace found that most of the Azore an flora are well adapted to be carried by the methods just suggested—4s of the 439 flow ering plants belonging to genera that have either pappus or winged seeds; 65 to such as have minute seeds, 30 to those with fleshy fruits which are greedily eaten by birds, some ave hispid seeds, and 84 are glumaceous plants well suited to conveyance by winds and currents. The only trees and shrubs of this isolated group are bearers of small berries, such as the Portugal laurel, myrtle, laurustinus and elder, while those with heavy berries which could not be conveyed by the means suggested —oaks, chestnuts, hazels, apples, beeches, alders, firs —are absent, common as they are in Europe. The character of the flora is that of the soutnwest - ern peninsula of Europe, and, if we assume that one-half of its species is indigenous, the other introduced by European settlers, there is still a rich and varied flora which' Mi Wallace thinks has recently been carried over 900 miles of Ocean by the means just indicated. There is probably no better example of ocean migration than ft at offered bytl e Azores and it is believed that the phe

nomena m question are still in progress, and that 900 miles do not form the limit of the distance to which this same ocean carriage of plants extends.— Edinburgh Review.