282 Schivrty— Contributions to the Life History of 



shoot in the axil of each cotyledon. The main stem of 

 the plant at this time is eight or ten inches high. If, how- 

 ever, the cotyledons are placed, so that they are exposed to 

 the light, longer shoots, four in number — two for each axil 

 —are developed by the time the plant reaches the height 

 mentioned above. Cutting off one of the cotyledonary 

 shoots caused the production of two more buds of unequal 

 strength. This operation has been repeated three times in 

 succession, upon the same plant, with a like result. I am 

 not prepared, however, to state how frequently there will 

 be similar response. 



It is true, that the cotyledonary shoots developed in nor- 

 mal position give somewhat similar results, when experi- 

 mented upon in this manner, but the response to the 

 operation of cutting is not so rapid. 



In the capability to develop such a quantity of chloro- 

 phyll, Amphicarpcea seems unique. The cotyledons of 

 Vicia Faba, normally hyopgean, when exposed to the light, 

 do behave similarly; but the depth of color is not so pro- 

 nounced. 



Edwardsia chilensis is the only seed mentioned by Lub- 

 bock, 18 having subterranean cotyledons, which are greenish. 

 Nothing more explicit is stated; one cannot tell whether 

 that is & the natural color, or whether it is produced by 

 accidental exposure to light. 



At present no other member of the Leguminosae is known 

 to exhibit such a marked tendency to form chlorophyll in 

 the cotyledons, unless those organs naturally arise above 

 the surface of the ground. 



Young Plants. 



As has been stated, the cotyledons of both terrestrial and 

 aerial seeds remain underground. The radicle has grown 

 quite long, and the petioles of the cotyledons have elon- 

 gated considerably, before the bent epicotyl issues from their 

 protection. For some time the epicotyledonary region 

 remains in this position. From the moment of germina- 



