Essential parts tf th Yowiy Plant. 35 



of //< 



132. The seed contains the germs of the lirst growth of the future 



in an cniln-ii<>, and the <-<,t y </<)//.< or seed-leavi s that will lirst ap- 



pear. In the <;,,,n> i-*, such a.- ihc pii;es, spruces. and cedars, there 



are several ot'the.-e cotyledon-, hut in most other trees that we shall 



have occasion to notiee there are two. 



l.".:5. When livinir seeds are properly exposed to darkness. mni>t- 

 ure, air, and warmth, they will >pMiu and gmw. In this pr< 

 there comes out from the cmhryo a Mot. or r<t<Iirl>', which descends 

 into the soil in whatever ])ositi..n the seed may chance to lie, while 

 the cotyledons or germinal Lave- >eek the air and the light, forming 

 the I'linim!'' or stem of the plant. 



i:il. Tlie time re(|iiircd ior sprouting varies from a few hours to 

 a few days, and in some ca-es it d-es not occur until the m \i 

 n. The process may sometimes lie ha.-tened and a.-s tired by 

 previously soaking t and in tho.-r hav- 



ing hard shells hy scaldin--, as elsewhere mon- 

 fully described. 



1 '!"). The cotyledons of the acorn (/") arc 

 made up of a multitude <>f small cells, filled 

 with a kind of starch, which perlorms an office 

 quite anala.u'ous to the albinnni of an cirir, and 

 is sometimes so called. It dillers, however, 

 i'rom albumen as found in the e_u r ir, and in the 

 serum of the hi >od, and is a form ofjMVtetlldP 

 BOt forming a part of the tissues, but contained 

 in cells; as a thin jelly mingled with the juices. "^4* 

 In other forms it is called yhitni, and, with ' \.-, 

 starch, it forms the princ-ijtal bulk in -rain- ^ ., 

 and seeds. 



136. This, absorbing moisture from the soil, 

 and having accc.-s to the air ami carbonic acid 

 gas in the soil, is changed into sunar, which is -. .\n Acorn Diving out 

 soluble in the juices of the young plant, and by ![. s k ! Mui 

 the time that this supply is spent, the roots 

 have got well started, and the young tree has all the elements of 

 life that it requires for future growth. 



