246 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



S.YAID 

 THE LENS 



EXAMINING THE STRUCTURE OF 

 SEEDS. 



The peculiar objects shown in photo- 

 graph are slices, or what the microsco- 

 pist calls sections, of grains of Indian 

 corn cut across from the front edge tow- 

 ard the point of attachment to the cob. 

 The bulk of nearly every seed is formed 

 of what the botanist has named the albu- 

 men, and is there preserved for the nour- 

 ishment of the sprouting plant, which ab- 

 sorbs it, after the moisture of the earth 



and the warmth of the sunlight have 

 brought about important chemical 

 changes in its composition. But as man 

 has discovered that the albumen of many 

 seeds is °ood for his own nourishment, 

 he grinds the grains of wheat and of 

 other cereals, to flour, which is there- 

 fore composed chiefly of this starchy al- 

 bumen. The grains of Indian corn are 

 no exception in the abundance of this 

 material, as the sections here shown will 

 readily prove, all the light-colored por- 



NO. 1 CROSS SECTIONS OF GRAINS OF INDIAN CORN. 



