26 



SCIENCE PRIMERS. 



[VI. 



36. The plantlet consists of several parts, which 

 serve different purposes. In the pea (Fig. 10) it 

 consists of two thick masses (cotyledons) placed 

 face to face and united at one point of their margins. 

 A small cylindrical body lies between the cotyledons 

 where these unite, and is attached to them about 

 its middle. It is conical at one end, and blunter 



FIG. 12. Wheat germinating : i Seed cut vertically, showing a the in- 

 tegument, b the albumen, c the embryo ; 2 the same further advanced ; 3 back 

 view of grain, with d plumule, and e sheathed rootlets ; 4 the same further 

 advanced ; all twice the real size. 



at the other. When the seed grows, the conical 

 end (the radicle), which lies below the point of 

 junction with the cotyledons, elongates downwards 

 and gives origin to the root of the plant. The 

 blunter end (the plumule), which lies above that 

 point, elongates upwards and becomes the stem of 



