SEEDLINGS 



pine seeds that will come above ground, and look like 

 tiny pine trees, in a month or so. 



The sprouting pine seeds behave, in many respects, 

 like the castor beans, but the swelling food does not 

 burst the seed coat. Instead of this, the coat is brought 

 above ground by the growing, arched stem, and the leaves 

 remain inside, safe and warm, until they have absorbed all 

 the food. In the picture you can see one way they have of 

 getting rid of their coat. Your seed-leaves may behave 

 differently. 



There are many common seeds that you can grow more 

 quickly than the pine and castor bean, such as the morning 

 glory, common bean, squash, pea, peanut, nasturtium, corn, 

 wheat and onion. The morning glory seed has the baby 

 plant and its store of food snugly stored away in the small- 

 est possible space. The common bean has a different plan 

 for storing food; as you remove the seed coat, you see that 

 the two bodies into which the seed separates are attached 

 to the little stem instead of being packed about it. When 

 these bodies are dragged into the light, they become green, 

 and spread out from the stem, like leaves. In fact, they are 

 the seed-leaves just as truly as were the thinner, prettier 

 leaves of the castor bean and morning glory, but the bean 

 seed-leaves have the food which they furnish to the grow- 

 ing plant stored within them instead of about them. They 

 use none of this food for their own growth, but as their 

 supplies are used by the rest of the seedling, they shrivel 

 and finally drop off. By this time, the next two leaves, 

 which were distinct even in the seed, have grown into good 

 food-makers. 



The two seed-leaves of the squash also have their food 

 stored inside, but they use part of it for themselves and 

 become veiy good food-making, or foliage, leaves. Do not 

 miss the clever trick of the squash leaves by which they get 

 rid of the hard outside coat or shell. The stem grows a 



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