The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-01-19
PLANTS THAT HAVE GUNS.
A Violet Six-Shooter Tree Which Hurts It's Seeds Fiji
ty-Seven Feet. Wsteria Veritable Catapault

Plants nave number of ways in
which they scatter abroad their seeds
in order that the species may be per-
petuated, and of these none is more
curious than the method followed by
certain ones of shooting their seeds
to varying distances from the parent,
says a scientific writer in the New
York Tribune.
Few persons, aside from botanists,
are aware that the beautiful little
violet is one of the most remarkable
of the plant artillerists. When its
seed are ripe the pod that before had
been folded back on its crooked prone
stem becomes erect and opens into
three valves that place themselves at
right angles with the stem of the
plant.
The Strengthening of the stalk
brings the seed vessels, that hereto
fore had been concealed, on a level
with or above the leaves. These
valves are shaped like the keel of
boat, and each one contains from
three to four rows of seeds. The
seeds of the inner rows being at
tached to the top, while the outer
ones are attached to the sides of the
keel, give to the valves an appear
ance of overlooking, and were it not
for their slender fastening they
would be spilled out by the least mo-
ton.
The shooting process is now be-
gun by the hard, smooth edges and
sides of the valves pressing on the
outer rows of seeds below their
greatest diameter; the pressure be-
ing transmitted to the under side of
the seeds of the heaped-up middle
rows, they generally are the first pro-
jected. Usually only one seed is pro-
jected at a time, and this is some
times hurled to distance of four or
five feet. AS fast as a seed is shot
from a valve another slips down into
space in it's turn a little later, until
finally all have left the parent, later
on to sprout and blossom themselves.
In Ionidium lineaTe, one of the vio-
let's, each capsule contains SIX seeds
and is a six-shooter. The three
valves open wide and press the seeds
tightly by their ma gins, and in this
way they are shot off singly as one
shoots orange seeds from between the
fingers. A good shot will carry Is
to 20 feet
In PLEA pumila the outer end of
the elastic-hOoded scales is held down
by the otherwise naked seed. The
stamens may be compared to a V
shaped spring, the ends of which are
pressed together. When the seed is
ripe and it's connection broken the
hooded spring suddenly straightens
and the seed is shot into the air five
feet or more.
The seeds of the wood sorrel COX
alls) are covered with a loose outer
coat. When ripe this loose coat
bursts and is suddenly rolled back,
breaking the fiber and at the same
time separating the walls of the cell
and projecting the seed two or three
feet. BY this movement the loose
coat is generally turned inside out.
The flattened oval seeds are marked
on their sides by transverse grooves
that doubtless aid in directing their
flight Before the seeds are fully ma
tured they may be removed from the
cell and the coating caused to burst
by touching them with some sharp
pointed instrument. So quick is the
movement that one is strongly re-
minded by it of a jumping flea.
A veritable vegetable catapult is
the seed of the Chinese wisteria
(Wisteria consequana Benth) A
well-known botanist reports that he