IRambles witb mature Students 



cotyledons, as they ought to be called, differ very 

 much from the mature leaves, it is rather interesting 

 to try and find out each species, and thus learn 

 to identify trees in their babyhood. 



The sycamores seem to find it difficult to get 

 out of their seed-coats, for here and there we 

 may find one with a stem an inch long with the 

 winged part (samara) perched at the top like 



some quaint kind of 

 headgear. Even if 

 they get out of the 

 husk, they are for 

 the first day or two 

 crumpled into odd 

 shapes, just as they 

 were packed and 

 curled up in the seed- 

 coat ; but before long 

 they spread out their 

 two cotyledons and 

 seem to rejoice in the 

 light and air. 



These seedlings are 

 of a dark green colour 

 with a crimson stem, 

 a combination we may also find in the bud of the 

 tree itself, which in some specimens has outer bud- 

 scales of the richest crimson, whilst the delicately 

 folded young leaves within are of a vivid tint of 

 green. 



I have just found a remarkable number of these 

 seedlings with three and even four cotyledon leaves, 

 showing that the seeds must have contained three 

 or four embryos A month or two later these young 



SYCAMORE SEEDLINGS. 



