OR WHITE. 2gi 



Corn, Palms, Lilies, never rising out of the 

 ground nor assuming the office of leaves, 

 being destined solely to nourish the ger- 

 minating embryo, till its roots can perform 

 their office. In the Date Palm, Gcertner, 

 t. 9 ? this part is nearly as hard as a stone ; 

 in Mirabilis, Exot. Hot. t. 23, it is like 

 wheat flour. It is wanting in several tribes 

 v of plants, as those with compound, or with 

 cruciform flowers, and the Cucumber or 

 Gourd kind, according to Goertner. Some 

 few leguminous plants have it, and a great 

 number of others which, like them, have 

 cotyledons besides. We are not however 

 to suppose that so important an organ is 

 altogether wanting, even in the above- 

 mentioned plants. The farinaceous matt r- , 

 destined to nourish their embryos, is un- 

 questionably lodged in their cotyledons, 

 whose sweet taste as they begin to germi- 

 nate often evinces its presence, and that it 

 has undergone the same chemical change 

 as in Barley. The Albumen of the Nut- 

 meg is remarkable for its eroded variegated 

 appearance, and aromatic quality ; the co- 

 tyledons of this seed are very small. 

 u 2 



