206 



FIRST YEAR SCIENCE 



SCRUB OAK BRANCH. 

 Showing the acorns. 



the seed grew. Seeds like the acorn are carried about by 

 squirrels and other animals. Many seeds are able to float 



in water for a considerable time 

 without being injured and are 

 borne about by currents. Shores 

 of streams and islands receive 

 many of their plant seeds in 

 VLMm^w thus way. The cocoanut palm 



\4 jfjvt |j| i g a n t a ble seed of this kind 



^^^^jBHfe^ an( ^ * s ^ oun( ^ widely scattered 

 \^^FF/M^ over tropical islands. 

 t,J ^m^A MLI^J 



97. Seeds and their Germination. 

 Experiment 104. Take two com- 

 mon dinner plates and place in the 

 bottom of one of them two or three 

 layers of blotting paper and thoroughly 

 wet it. Place some wheat or other kinds of seeds upon this. Now 

 invert the other plate over the first, being careful to have the edges 

 touch evenly. This makes a moist chamber and gives the most favor- 

 able conditions for germination. Do all the seeds germinate at the 

 same time? Does the position of the seed- make any difference? 

 What takes place first in the process of germination ? What appears 

 first, the leaf or the root ? Why does the seed shrivel up ? 



Experiment 105. Cut open several seeds, such as pumpkin, squash, 

 bean, corn, and drop on to the inside of each a few drops of the iodine 

 solution made in Experiment 100. Do the seeds show the presence of 

 starch ? 



Experiment 106. Soak some beans for about twenty-four hours. 

 .Rub off the skin from two or three and examine their different parts 

 carefully. Plant the beans in a box of damp sawdust. Put the box 

 in a warm place. Plant some corn that has been soaked for two or 

 three days in the same box. After the seeds have been planted sev- 

 eral days, carefully remove a bean and a grain of corn and examine. 

 Make a sketch of each of the seeds. 



After a few days more remove another seed of each and examine 

 and sketch. Continue to do this until the little plants have become 

 quite well grown. Do the two seeds develop alike? Which of the 



