. Under the open sky; being a year with nature. Natural history. 236 UNDER THE OPEN SKY their seeds, which is, after all, what they want to do with their flowers. There is another odd thing about this plant. While it is just preparing to set its seed, it is still carrying the fruits that matured from last year's flowers. They are the urn-like ob- jects scattered over the branches. Some bright morning, after a frosty night, each fruit will split sharply into two, and partly into four. The sections will bend away from each other, and under the strain of the curving pod four oblong, hard seeds wi
. Under the open sky; being a year with nature. Natural history. 236 UNDER THE OPEN SKY their seeds, which is, after all, what they want to do with their flowers. There is another odd thing about this plant. While it is just preparing to set its seed, it is still carrying the fruits that matured from last year's flowers. They are the urn-like ob- jects scattered over the branches. Some bright morning, after a frosty night, each fruit will split sharply into two, and partly into four. The sections will bend away from each other, and under the strain of the curving pod four oblong, hard seeds will shoot away for eight or ten feet. This is the witch-hazel's way of giving her children a start in the race for life. THE DIVINING ROD Anything we do not understand we are apt to attribute to the Deity or to the evil one, and it seems then to need no further explanation. Which of these is considered the agent in the peculiar use sometimes made of the witch-hazel, the name "divin- ing rod" would seem to indicate. A twis of this plant, rightly balanced, is supposed. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Schmucker, Samuel Christian, b. 1860. Philadelphia and London, J. B. Lippincott Company
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
