LIFE-HISTORY OF THE HERB ROBERT 93 
are plenty of them, for those seeds which germinate 
during the summer and early autumn make a few 
leaves before growth is brought to a standstill by the 
cold. They retain them all through the winter, so 
that one can begin one’s observation of the youngsters 
practically at any time during those nine months. 
It is wise, however, not to begin during the 
winter itself, because the thermometer is then so low 
that it is no use attempting to watch development. 
There are plenty of different stages to be found, from 
the first appearance above ground of the two coty- 
ledons to plants with a few foliage leaves, but things 
are at a standstill. 
During the autumn and the spring one can on the 
contrary note the changes that are taking place, and 
the autumn is the 
better season of the 
two because we shall 
already have made 
our observations on 
the seedlings by the 
time that spring 
comes round, and 
so be all the more 
free to devote the 
whole of our avail- Ais, eee bin See e 
: ‘tq. 34.—Herb Robert seedlings, with 
able time to the foliage leaves, and (S) the ~ stumps 
later stages. of the leaf-stalks. Half natural size. 
One plant that nae 
I watched pretty closely had four foliage leaves at the 
end of the year, and it kept them fresh and green, 
except for a suggestion of red, all through the winter. 
By about the end of April an autumn seedling will 
have a beautiful crown of leaves, its very short stem 

