-~CHAPTER II 
‘ STORAGE OF FOOD IN THE SEED 
14. Food in the Embryo. — Squash seeds are not much 
used for human food, though both these and melon seeds 
are occasionally eaten in parts of Europe; but beans and 
peas are important articles of food. Whether the material 
accumulated in the cotyledons is an aid to the growth of 
the young plant may be learned from a simple experiment. 
-15. Mutilated and Perfect Seedlings. — One of the best 
ways in which to find out the importance and the special 
= = 
- Fig. 4.—Germinating Peas, growing in Water, one 
deprived of its Cotyledons. 
use of any part of 
a plant is to re- 
move the part in 
question and see 
how the plant be- 
haves afterward. 
EXPERIMENT V! 
Are the Cotyledons 
of a Pea of any Use 
to the Seedling ? — 
Sprout several peas on 
blotting paper. When 
the plumules appear, 
carefully cut away the cotyledons from some of the seeds. Place on 
a perforated cork, as shown in Fig. 4, one or two seedlings from 
1 May be a home experiment. 
‘14 
