Tut. Do you know what these feathers, as you call them, are?
Geo. I believe they belong to the seed.
Tut. They do, and they are worth examining. Look at this single one through my magnifying glass; you observe the seed at the bottom, like the point of a dart. From it springs a slender hairy shaft crowned by a very elegant spreading plume. You see it is a complete arrow of Nature’s manufacture.
Geo. How exact!
Har. What a beautiful thing!
Tut. I am sure you see the use of it at once.
Geo. It is to set the seeds a flying with the wind.
Har. And I suppose they sow themselves where they light?
Tut. They do. This is one of Nature’s contrivances for dissemination, or that scattering of the seeds of plants which makes them reach all the places proper for their growth. I dare say you have observed other plants furnished with the same winged or feathered seeds.
Har. O yes—there are groundsel, and ragwort, and thistles.