THE SEED AND ITS GERMINATION 13 



12. Other Proofs of Chemical Action. Besides the proof 

 of chemical changes in germinating seeds just described, 

 there are other kinds of evidence to the same effect. 



Malt, which is merely sprouted barley with its germi- 

 nation permanently stopped at the desired point by the 

 application of heat, tastes differently from the unsprouted 

 grain, and can be shown by chemical tests to have suffered 

 a variety of changes. If you can get unsprouted barley 

 and malt, taste both and see if you can decide what sub- 

 stance is more abundant in the malt. 



Germinating kernels of corn undergo great alterations 

 in their structure ; the starch grains are gradually eaten 

 away until they are ragged and full of holes and finally 

 disappear. 



13. The Embryo and its Development. The miniature 

 plant, as it exists ready formed and alive but inactive in 

 the seed, is called the embryo. In the seeds so far ex- 

 amined, practically the entire contents of the seed-coats 

 consist of the embryo, but this is not the case with the 

 great majority of seeds, as will be shown in the following 

 chapter. 



