94 



The five terminal cells form a little coronet on the seed : their cir- 

 culation is up the outside and down the angular inside. The five 

 tubes are not round, and are situated as in fig. 3. 



The agreeable fonn of the seed-case is preserved by the tubes 

 being enlarged above the seed so as to fill the space, all but a 

 narrow, five-sided portion, which may possibly be a central cell. 



The foot-stalk of the seed consists of four cells, one above the 

 other, the first or lowest uniting it to the plant. The five surrounding 

 tubes rise from the third cell, and this cell is remarkable as being the 

 one that is always broken through when the seed falls off. The 

 tubes also extend their contact to the second and fourth cells. 

 Fig. 2, », represents the globule or male flower : the bottom of its stalk 

 is angular, projecting from between the first and second cells. 



The first and second cells of the foot-stalk have vertical or oblique 

 circulation ; the third cell, d f is very shallow and five-sided : its cir- 

 culation is horizontal. In these three I have not seen a nucleus, but 

 the fourth cell has a globular body, e, going round with the circulation, 

 as shown by an arrow. 



When the seed is ripe the tubes decay, leaving it covered with car- 

 bonate of lime : the interposition of which shows that the tubes do 

 not adhere to the seed. 



The seed is one-fortieth of an inch long, and of a chestnut brown ; 

 when dry it appears gray, from the covering of lime. This coating 

 will occasionally crack off; its section is then like a, fig. 4, and the 

 seed-surface like b, b. Weak muriatic acid dissolves the crust, and 

 the true colour of the seed can then be seen, the ridges also will then 

 be found to have on them a very thin membrane, c, c, which grew be- 

 tween the five tubes. 



The lower end of the ridges being continued, forms the five an- 

 gles of the fourth and third cells, d, d, and e, e ; the cell e, e, being 

 broken through when the seed separates from the plant, the ridges 

 go no lower ; we may therefore consider these two upper cells as be- 

 longing to the seed, and the two lower ones to the plant. 



The contents of the seed are very like wheat flour. In water the 

 globules act like lenses, and when the microscope is adjusted to their 

 focus, and the hand held between them and the light, every globule 

 shews a small image of it. 



The five ridges divide the skin into five straps ; for on germination 

 taking place, their ends separate neatly at the ridges, as a, a, in fig. 5, 

 to let the young plant protrude. 



