(;i:u'.\n\.\T/o\ 265 



thr(Hii;h the woods in early suiniuer will reveal 

 many specimens under or near the outskirts of the 

 loiiai^e. I'nder the beeches we shall soon li^ht 

 upon the nuts of last year comini^ up through the 

 moist, rottini; soil, in the form of two broad, green 

 seed-leaves. As the\- often retain the dry, three- 

 cornered seed-husk u\nm them, we can easily see 

 that they are ycning beeches ; (otherwise, the 

 cot)ledon leaves being so unlike the perfect form, 

 it might be rather difficult to distinguish the 

 species. These seedlings ha\e germinated sc^ne- 

 what like the bean seed, the radicle has grown 

 chnvnward, and the curved tigelliim, pushing up- 

 wards, has draw n the cotyledons out of the seed- 

 coat. We ma\' notice with surprise through how- 

 small an aperture the cotyledons have been 

 pushed, and still thc\- are uninjured, a fact that is 

 due to their being folded up like a fan in the seed- 

 husk. As soon as the tigelliiui reaches light and 

 air it straightens out, and the flat seed leaves, which 

 are at first of the palest green, soon deepen in 

 C(;lour, and arc working away prejiaring food for 

 the growth of the xoung plumule which springs up 

 from between the cotyledons, crowned with two 



