Origin of Species Variorum

Comparison with 1872

as the seed of a vetch. Here is a better case: the leg of a woodcock was sent to me by a friend, with a little cake of dry earth attached to the shank, weighing only nine grains; and this contained a seed of the toad-rush (Juncus bufonius) which germinated and flowered. Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, who during the last forty years has paid close attention to our migratory birds, informs me that he has often shot wagtails (Motacillæ), wheatears, and whin-chats (Saxicolæ), on their first arrival on our shores, before they had alighted; and he has several times noticed little cakes of earth attached to their feet. Many facts could be given showing how generally soil is .. charged with seeds. ↑ I will give one case:— Mr. Newton sent me the leg of a red-legged partridge (Caccabis rufa) which had been wounded and could not fly; round the wounded leg and foot a ball of hard earth had collected, and this when removed weighed six and a half ounces. This earth had been kept for three years, but when broken, watered and placed under a bell glass, no less than 82 plants sprung up from it: these consisted of twelve monocotyledons, including the common oat, and at least one kind of grass, and of 70 dicotyledons, which included, judging from the young leaves, at least three distinct species. With such facts before us, can we doubt that the many birds which are annually blown by gales across great spaces of ocean, and which annually migrate— for instance, the millions of quails across the Mediterranean— must occasionally transport a few seeds embedded in dirt adhering to their feet? But I shall presently have to recur to this subject.

As icebergs are known to be sometimes loaded with earth and stones, and have even carried brushwood, bones, and the nest of a land-bird, I can hardly doubt that they must occasionally have transported seeds from one part to another of the arctic and antarctic regions, as suggested by Lyell; and during the Glacial period from one part of the now temperate regions to another. In the Azores, from the large number of the species of plants common to Europe, in comparison with the species on the other islands of the Atlantic, which stand nearer to the mainland, and (as remarked by Mr.

as the seed of a vetch. Here is a better case: the leg of a woodcock was sent to me by a friend, with a little cake of dry earth attached to the shank, weighing only nine grains; and this contained a seed of the toad-rush (Juncus bufonius) which germinated and flowered. ↑ Many facts could be given showing how the soil is almost everywhere charged with seeds. For instance, Prof. Newton sent me the leg of a red-legged partridge (Caccabis rufa) which had been wounded and could not fly, with a ball of hard earth adhering to it, and weighing six and a half ounces. The earth had been kept for three years, but when broken, watered and placed under a bell glass, no less than 82 plants sprung .. from it: these consisted of 12 monocotyledons, including the common oat, and at least one kind of grass, and of 70 dicotyledons, which consisted, judging from the young leaves, of at least three distinct species. With such facts before us, can we doubt that the many birds which are annually blown by gales across great spaces of ocean, and which annually migrate— for instance, the millions of quails across the Mediterranean— must occasionally transport a few seeds embedded in dirt adhering to their feet or beaks? But I shall .. have to recur to this subject.

As icebergs are known to be sometimes loaded with earth and stones, and have even carried brushwood, bones, and the nest of a land-bird, it can hardly be doubted that they must occasionally, as suggested by Lyell, have transported seeds from one part to another of the arctic and antaretic regions; ... and during the Glacial period from one part of the now temperate regions to another. In the Azores, from the large number of ... plants common to Europe, in comparison with the species in the other islands of the Atlantic, which stand nearer to the mainland, and (as remarked by Mr.