5 



6. The plant 

 break ing 

 out of the 

 seed- coats. 



The plant just 

 coming up. 



to the peg (seen at a, Fig. 6), and the seed- 

 leaves are trying to back out of the seed. 

 Fig. 7 shows the seed still a day later. The 

 root has now produced many branches and 

 has thoroughly established itself in the soil, 

 The top is also growing rapidly and is still 

 backinp" out of the seed, and the seed-coats are still 

 firmly held by the obstinate peg. 



Whilst we have been seeing all these 

 curious things in the seeds which we 

 have dug up, the plantlets which we 

 have not disturbed have been coming through the soil. 

 If we were to see the plant in Fig. 7, as it 

 was "coming up," it would look Hke Fig. 8. 

 It is tugging away trying to get its head out 

 of the bonnet which is pegged down under- 

 neath the soil, and it has "got its back up" 

 in the operation. In Fig. 9, it has escaped 

 from its trap and it is laughing and growing 

 in delight. It must now straighten itself up, 

 as it is doing in Fig. 10, and it is soon standing 

 proud and straight, as in Fig. i. We now see that 

 the reason why the seed came up on 

 the plant in Fig. 2, is because in 

 some way the peg did not hold the 

 seed-coats down (see Fig. 13), and 

 the expanding leaves are pinched 

 together, and they must get them- 

 selves loose as best they can. 



There is another thing about this curious squash 

 plant which we must not fail to notice, and this is 

 the fact that these first two leaves of the plantlet 

 came out of the seed and did not grow out of the 

 plant itself. We must notice, too, that these leaves 

 are much smaller when they are first drawn out of 

 the seed than they are when the plantlet has 

 straightened itself up. That is, these leaves in- 

 li^hteJJg^up. crease very much in size after they reach the light 



Th e 

 operation 

 Jurther 

 progress- 

 ed. 



9 The plant liber- 

 ated from the seed- 

 coats. 



10 

 straighte. 



