Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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THE TOWER LIGHT Travelers and Stay-at-Homes , HY do we see some plants gathered together in family groups while others wander far from home? You will be able to answer this question if you consider the various ways provided for seed distribution. Then you will know why the dandelion mother's children are scattered far and wide while the pea vine always has hers within call. Some seeds that are heavy have no means provided for their dis- persal other than rollingg among these are the seeds of the various grains and different kinds of nuts. The vessels of some seeds open so that the wind or a passing object may shake them out. The seeds of the evening primrose are exposed by the paltry splitting of the vessel and are shaken out by the slightest contact. A great many garden and wild flowers have mechanical devices that open the pods with such force that the seeds are imme- diately expelled. The lupine and paint brush are good examples of this type. The seeds dispersed in this way never travel far and so you will usually find the children of these plants grouped in families. Some-seeds are formed in such a way that the wind helps to scatter them. It may carry them from a few feet to several miles. Many seeds dispersed by the wind are wasted, for only a few may land on fertile ground. The seeds that depend on the wind as their carrier have some sort of parachute or sail. Nearly all members of the com- posite family have parachutes-the dandelion being a well-known avia- tor. The wind transports the entire plant in some cases, so keep an eye open for mother tumble-weed rolling over and over across a field. Water is an active factor in the distribution of seeds and especially for plants that grow in or near the water. These seeds float along until a ripple, or a sand bar causes them to be lifted to the shore. Seeds carried by the water usually have a hard shell or some kind of protection so they will be able to germinate after they have been in the water for a long time. One of the chief methods of dispersal employs people and animals as agents. This way, more than any other, should be familiar to us. How many times have we ended a tramp through the woods only to find our clothing covered with burrs! EDNA IKENA, Senior I. 12

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THE TOWER LIGHT Beach Storm Waves, pounding on the jetties Foam, suddy, swirling round you. Wind, pulling at your clothing Rain, beating on your face Sand, cold and Wet and stinging Blown by racing wind and rain. People huddled close in corners Or running with the wind Cold rain against wet faces. Foam, white to the horizon. Ocean, twisting, seething, writhing Nature, beauty at its height. LOUISE OGIER, O 0.0 Autumn Autumn is a Gypsy maid, Surely you must know, Don't you see the colors bright? And feel her cool breath blow? The pumpkins glist'ning in the sun, Are gold this maiden gives, The cornstalks stacked up in the Held Are tents in which she lives. See! Her cloak, once new and green, Is now a dingy brown, The leaves now turning red and gold, Are trimmings on her gown. Poor Gypsy maid, she's torn her dress. See the fragments fly? Some drop down upon the earth, The rest whirl toward the sky. Of course you know this maiden, Who comes but once a year! She tells us that there's fun on hand,- For autumn days are here. RIBERO WIL 11 Senior IV LBY, '32,

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THE TOWER LIGHT Faces at the Race Track AM glad that my comparative poverty permits my attention to wander from the all important dope sheet to scan the faces of the less fortunate who surround me. Less fortunate because their wealth limits their attention to the form sheets rather than to the dope printed so plainly on and between the lines in the faces about them. They do not see the momentary dark flash in that small woman's eyes as she furtively glances lest observers should hear, before she plead- ingly says to the man in brown, Don't bet any more. Those unlucky ones are not refreshed by the smile that spells- I won on the face of the girl absorbedly leaning on the rail, her program and pencil in hand. Nor do the brown eyes that look brilliantly black in their exultation of victory transmit their joy to the dopesters.', Even the pale, plump infant, kicking his round little becotton-stockinged legs as he sips beer from his father's glass, soiling again his crushed dress, fails to arouse our oblivious friends rightful indignation. The much facialed face of the woman in the club house, whose toilet was prepared for admiring eyes, was groomed in vain, for eyes today are unseeing-unseeing except for the horse of the race and the price on the odds board. Hence, I am well contented, even though I did not hold the ticket for the long-shot in the sixth. I feel richer I know, than my neighbor who did. You see, I could see his face. MARY-STEWART LEWIS, Senior IV. 9:0 Pike-Town AM sympathetic with the pike-town. It owes its very existence to the pike that is cut mercilessly through its entrails and fairly breathes indebtedness. As disagreeable trucks gnash their teeth in shifting the gears to ascend a graceful slope, they heed not the houses that face obediently the highway, some reeking of newness, some mellow with years and a few of all types shamefacedly whispering,- Tourists I would that I could incite these houses, this town, to rebel against this ill smelling, monstrous thing, the pike, stealing its way, crawling, full of four-legged leeches that make slumber fitful and break the fragile silence. Rebel? Ah, that would be to die, for because of, and by this monster, our town exists. Without it, the houses would close their shutters and the churches mute their chimes. It is life. Without it- the pike-town dies? MARY STEWART 'LEw1s, Senior IV. 13