80 



FIRST LESSONS WITH PLANTS 



beginning. 



and peg. 



he would be rewarded by a colony of plants like 

 that shown in Fig. 72. If he had not planted 

 the seeds himself, or had 

 not seen such plants before, 

 he would not believe that 

 these curious plants would 

 ever grow into squash vines, 

 so different are they from the vines which we 

 know in the garden. This, itself, is a most 

 interesting fact, this wonderful difference between 

 the first and the later stages of all plants, and it 

 is only because we know it so well that we do 

 not wonder at it. 



101. It may happen, however, that one or two 

 of the plants may look 

 like that shown in Fig. 

 73. Here the seed 

 seems to have come up 

 on top of the plant, 

 and one is reminded of the curious 

 way in which beans come up on 

 the stalk of the young plant. 

 We are desirous to know why one 

 of these squash plants brings its 

 seed up out of the ground while 

 all the others do not. We shall ask the plant. 

 We may first pull up the two plants. The first 

 one (Fig. 72) will be seen to have the seed -coats 



