:fi5rin0in9 3fortb 3fruit 173 



Each seed is composed of two thick cotyledons and 

 a straight germ, lying in the fibrous shell. These 

 oily, richly-flavored shell-protected cotyledons are 

 the peanut of commerce. 



The size of seeds and seed-pods often attracts even 

 the casual observer. How large are the pods which 

 sj^ring from the little blossom of the lima bean ! The 

 small flower of the honey-locust expands from its tiny 

 germ, growing the summer long into a great curled 

 pod over an inch wide, and from seven to ten inches in 

 length. How small is the dainty apple blossom ! That 

 little green knob below the five partings of the calyx 

 grows to the fragrant, juicy, richly-tinted' apple often 

 four or five inches in diameter. The cocoanut and 

 the Brazil-nut are seeds of a notable size ; contrast 

 wdth these the tiny seeds of poppies and the portu- 

 lacca seeds, which appear as a fine steel-colored 

 dust. 



Many seeds which are small in themselves have 

 very large cases. The pumpkin seed is a thin oval, 

 at most three-fourths of an inch long and half an 

 inch broad. From it sprouts a vine which may be 

 some yards in length, bearing several large pumpkins 

 of from three to twenty-five or thirty pounds in 

 weight. Some pumpkins are so large that they may 

 be cut into chariots or slippers, in which a five- 

 year-old child could be placed to play Cinderella's 



