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sugar beet ; and, because of the particular attention which it is receiving- 

 just now in man}- parts of our Province, we shall study it with a view to 

 finding- out its life-story. 



Beginning with the seed, we find that what is commonly called the 

 seed is in reality a pod. With the aid of a sharp knife, let us open a 

 number of these pods, by cutting them straight across the centre. We 

 now notice that the pod is composed of a rough irregular shell. Inside 

 the shell are chambers, separated from one another by woody partitions. 

 In some of these pods, we find but one chamber ; in others, there are as 

 many as four or five of these cavities. Inside each chamber, we find the 

 true seed of the beet. The seed, you will notice, is kidney-shaped. It 



Fig. 80. The beet pod (on the left). The beet pod opened, showing- the chambers within. 

 The true seed of the beet (on the ri<,'ht). 



is about the size of a turnip seed, and is enclosed within a dark brown 

 wrapper. When this wrapper is removed, we discover the embryo, or 

 infant plant, curved around a mealy substance. This mealy substance 

 is the endosperm^ and is the food upon which the young plant feeds during 

 the germinating, or infant, stage. The embryo is the essential and 

 most important part of the seed It has root, stem, and leaves, although 

 these organs are often as undeveloped in form as they are in size. 



Boys and girls will do well to observe carefully the various stages in 

 the act of germination. For this purpose, a dozen pods or more are 

 sown in a soil kept duly warm and moist, and one or two pods are 

 uncovered and dissected at successive intervals of, say, 12 hours, until 

 the process is complete. In this way, it is easy for us to trace all the 

 visible changes which occur as the embryo starts to grow. 



We thus notice that the seed first absorbs a large amount of moisture. 

 As a result, it swells and becomes soft. The embryo enlarges, and 



shortly the shell bursts, and a sprout 

 makes its appearance. In the figure 

 given below, you will notice three 

 sprouts making their exit from a 

 single pod. Notice also that these 

 sprouts have the same general ap- 

 pearance. Each sprout is called a 

 radicle. In time, the radicle be- 

 comes the true root. 



Fifr. 81. A beet pod showing three sprouting- seeds ^" ^"^ prOCeSS of germuiatlOU, 



(on the right). The radicle making its exit from the yOUng olant grOWS at first wholly 

 the seed coat (on the left). , , i r . i j r ^ 



at the expense or the seed. It may, 

 therefore, be compared to the suckling animal, which, when newly 

 born, is unable to provide its own nourishment, and consequently depends 



