ˈseed-carrier
1. One who carries seed. † a. fig. One who disseminates the tenets of another. Obs. rare—1.
| 1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 101 The seed-cariers of these contentions are either close Iesuits, and so will not be knowne, or at least..Iesuited faultors of their pollicies. |
b. In sowing corn, etc.: An assistant who replenishes the seed-baskets of the sowers.
| 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 506 If the sacks of seed are conveniently placed, one active seed-carrier will serve two sowers. |
† 2. = seed-lip. Obs.
| 1831 Loudon Encycl. Agric. (1857) §2526 The seed-carrier or seed-basket is sometimes made of thin veneers of wood, bent into an irregular oval, with a hollow to fit the seedsman's side. |
3. Applied to various animals with reference to the part which they play in the dispersion of seeds.
| 1880 A. R. Wallace Isl. Life xii. 238 The dispersal of seeds—Birds as seed-carriers. 1906 Athenæum 12 May 581 Bats and insects may be active seed-carriers. |