Seed Dispersal

A spider spins a thread, and the wind carries her away from home. If plants cannot walk or fly, what sends them across fields—and sometimes farther still?

Writing for curious young botanists in the late nineteenth century, W. J. Beal begins in familiar woods, fields, and gardens, where nature’s quiet journeys are easy to miss. He looks first at animals that flee danger or travel for food, then at the smaller creatures that catch a ride—and asks how plants spread. Fairy rings, roots that creep beneath the soil, and tiny spores borne on wind or water reveal a world of ingenious movement. Even a lily bulb, Beal suggests, can be planted by its own roots. What other journeys are taking place just beyond sight?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.