DORMANT SEEDS. 241 



the pod itself. Upon this soft couch the seeds 

 obtain warmth and protection from the cold. 

 The seeds themselves are protected by water- 

 proof coverings, capable of affording a certain 

 amount of protection from the cold ; and should 

 they prematurely fall by the too easy splitting of 

 their silk-lined, horny envelope, there is still the 

 chance of their falling to the ground and lying 

 between substances which would render them 

 cold-proof. 



How marvellously diverse indeed are the pro- 

 visions made for protecting the delicate germ which 

 encloses the wonderful principle of vitality called 

 life ! In the Chestnut and Walnut there is first 

 the thick and prickly outer shell of green tissue, 

 then within that in the case of the Walnut there 

 is a stout hard shell, then a close covering of 

 brown skin, then the albuminous matter which 

 immediately surrounds the actual plant- germ or 

 embryo. In the case of the Chestnut, there is 

 first within the prickly outer shell an inner 

 glossy one like polished mahogany, and inside that 

 the brown skin enclosing the mass of albumen. 



In the plum there is, inside the sweet, fleshy 



B 



