^be Ibope ot l^ears to Come 49 



so strong that it can split the acorn apart, husk and 

 all ; then behold ! the thick white halves of the acorn 

 meat are a pair of cotjdedons ! When the sprout 

 lifts these above ground they become green ; ihej 

 have a large food sujjply for the new-born oak, and 

 last until thrifty root and leaves render the coming 

 tree independent. 



The big horse-chestnut has even greater food-stores 

 than the acorn. Acorns and horse-chestnuts can be 

 s^Drouted in pots to study. 



In peas, beans, acorns, almonds, and many other 

 seeds the food store is in the seed-leaves, and so is a 

 part of tlie young plant itself. There are other plants 

 where the seed is full of albumen, or starch stuff, for 

 food, and the cotyledons absorb it by their whole 

 surface. Take, for example, a morning-glory seed. It 

 is very hard, but as it begins to sprout this hard 

 matter softens to a pulp, within which lies the 

 embryo, a tiny stem and two small leaflets, or coty- 

 ledons. These lie against the store of food stuff, and 

 eat it up before they emerge from the husk. The 

 two cotyledons are broad and thin, with a notch at 

 the end ; this distinguishes them from the true leaves, 

 which are heart-shaped, with a long, pointed tip. 



Several times, in cutting open a lemon, I have 

 found a seed sprouted, a stem over an inch long, and 

 two narrow cotyledons of a bright green inside the 

 4 



