At first glance it is
not easy to identify the tree to which the obnoxious feature belongs.
The seeds occasion even dogs considerable distress, and might easily be
the cause of death to them. As the dog endeavours to remove them from
his feet and sides with his teeth, his muzzle is fouled, and he very
soon exhibits confusion and alarm, and rolling about in frenzied
attempts to free himself, gathers more and more of the seeds and
accumulated rubbish.
One is led to ponder upon the purpose of this provision--to endeavour,
if possible, to find its justification. Insects lured by the sweetness
of the exudation are callously entrapped, and why so? Do the seeds
require the presence of animal matter to ensure germination? In that
case the tree is indirectly carnivorous, and therefore decidedly
entitled to recognition among the curiosities of the island. Is the
glutin secreted to secure the wide dispersal of the seeds? If so, the
object is largely self-defeated, for seeds by the hundred cling as they
fall to the branches of the parent tree, and to those of its lowly
neighbours. Certainly some proportion of the seeds which reach the
ground must be borne hither and thither by the agency of that eternal
scratcher, the scrub fowl.
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