THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 5 



cumstances accordingly, produces a laughable denouncement. 

 Final scene; pussy disappearing over a fence; a bee flying 

 heavenward. 



Brozvn University, Providence, R. I. 



THE STUDY OF SEEDS. 



By Willard N. Clute. 



REDUCED to its lowest terms, the study of seeds in the 

 average high school course in botany resolves itself into 

 an inquiry as to what constitutes a seed, how seeds vary in 

 structure, of what use the various parts are, why plants pro- 

 duce seeds and what conditions are necessary in order that 

 the seed may germinate. There are a great many experi- 

 ments that may be performed with seeds; indeed one could 

 spend the time allotted to botany for a half year in investigat- 

 ing various points about them, and the temptation is always 

 great to linger in their study, but in any course that aims to 

 give a survey of all the plant parts, such lingering is an error. 

 It is an error, however, into which the new teacher is likely to 

 fall and even the books are not entirelv free from the fault 

 commonly giving more attention to seeds than the importance 

 of the subject warrants. In the high school, conditions make 

 it imperative that only the essentials be studied. It is well to 

 eliminate everything, therefore, that has not a direct and im- 

 portant bearing upon the subject in hand. 



The seeds of flowering plants, exclusive of the gym- 

 nosperms fall into two great groups depending upon the num- 

 ber of their cotyledons. In the monocotyledons there is but 

 a single cotyledon, in the dicotyledons there are two. Since 

 the parts of the dicot seed are somewhat easier to make out, 

 it is best to begin the study with a seed of this type and one 

 without endosperm such as the bean should be selected. But 

 there are beans and beans. The lima bean, which may be 

 bought at the grocers, is as good as any, but the seed of the 



