•38 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



bearing trees, they do not do better afterward. Nurserymen often use too 

 short roots, though we have found that the second and third cuts usually 

 do well. Many of them use nursery scions, but many others do not. Some 

 are rascals, but not all. Order trees direct from nurserymen whose stand- 

 ing you know, and buy only first-class stock. 



SEEDS. 



BY PROF. W. J. BEAL, MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



Of all the scientific definitions of a seed that I have found, none suit 

 me better than one mentioned by W. W. Tracy of this society, who 

 knows, probably, more about seeds, in a commercial way at least, 

 than any man in Michigan. It runs as follows: "A seed is a plant packed 

 ready for transportation." 



To secure good seeds with a substantial genealogy (and seeds have 

 genealogies as well as men) which shall go far toward securing uniform 

 good plants, true to breeding and name, we should go back several gener- 

 ations. As Dr. 0. W. Holmes said, with reference to the training of a 

 child, he would begin with its great great-grandmother. 



When very young, a seed is called an ovule, and is usually situated in 

 the midst of a flower, which contains male and female parts. The posi- 

 tion of ovules, in the ovary, and their structure, are here illustrated. We 

 have to be exact in our botanical terms, using each in its own peculiar 

 place. The leading object of a plant is to reproduce itself by seeds or 

 spores— at least, of most plants. To get ready for reproduction, the par- 

 ent plant must grow for a season or more, to acquire size and strength. 

 After flowering, food is carried to the young seeds to build them up, and 

 a surplus is added for a start in the world when cast ofp or left to shirk for 

 themselves. 



The external markings of seeds, their shapes and colors, are truly won- 

 derful, and in many of these points there can be found an advantage to 

 the plant. Seeds are often surrounded by a pistil or fruit, which is red, 

 white, yellow, or otherwise conspicuous, and this attracts mammals, birds, 

 or even frogs and fishes, as much as to say, "Here I am, pick me up and 

 give me a lift on my journey." Many seeds found in edible fruits have 

 coverings so hard and thick that they pass undigested through the alimen- 

 tary canals of animals. Some seeds and small fruits are carried by the 

 wind, aided by wings or a downy substance, while others hold to animals 

 by means of hooks. Some float upon the water. 



Seeds are composed of small cells, mostly filled with food in a condensed 

 form. In case of beans, peas, squashes, acorns, etc., nourishment is 

 nearly all stored in two large Seed leaves, while others, like Indian corn 

 and buckwheat, have much reserve food stored outside or around the seed- 



