CHAPTER XIII. THE FRUIT AND SEED. I 23 



Poppy is certainly much less prolific than many other flowering 

 plants. If all the seeds of almost any ordinary tree were to ger- 

 minate and reach maturity, and the seeds of all these in turn 

 were to develop, but a few generations would suffice before the 

 earth would be so crowded with them that no room would be 

 left for other plants. But, as a matter of fact, only a few of the 

 large number of seeds produced by a plant ever reach maturity. 

 The young plantlet has to contend with a thousand enemies, in 

 the form of destructive insects, beasts and fellow plants ; it must 

 often wage war, also, against unfavorable conditions of soil and 

 climate, against heat and cold, wet and drouth, and be hampered 

 by the shadows cast by its older and stronger brethren. It is 

 fortunate if, in the bitter struggle for existence, it survives to 

 help gladden the earth with bloom and verdure, for the great 

 majority perish. 



Practical Exercises. 



1. Study the following fruits, and classify and name them according to the 

 system given you in this chapter : The Watermelon, the Banana, the Rasp- 

 berry, a grain of Com, the Butternut, the Almond, the Osage Orange, the 

 Plum, the Sunflower fruit, the fruit of the Locust, that of Stramonium, of Red 

 Cedar, of the Carrot and of the Beet. 



2. Study the following fruits with reference to the adaptations for disper- 

 sion, and write out your conclusions regarding each : The fruit of Dog-bane, 

 of the wild Plum, of Agrimonia, of the wild Geranium, of the Elm, of Cleavers, 

 of the Clot-bur, of the garden Balsam, of the wild Cucumber (Echniocystis), of 

 the Grape and of the Hound's-Tongue. 



3. Examine seeds of the following plants with reference to the surface 

 markings, the coats, the position of the hilum, the micropyle and the rhaphe : 

 The Bean, the Pea, the Pumpkin, the Almond, the Stramonium and the Nux 

 vomica. 



4. Soak the following seeds for twenty-four hours in tepid water ; then 

 remove the seed coats and study the albumen and embryo : The Bean, the 

 Maple seed, the seed of Hemp, the seed of Morning-glory, the seed of the 

 White Pine, the seed of Indian Corn, and that of the Horse-chestnut. Deter- 

 mine (1) which of these seeds are albuminous and which are exalbuminous ; (2) 

 the position of the embryo as regards the albumen in case the seed possesses the 

 latter ; (3) the parts of the embryo present in each case ; (4) draw a diagram of 

 each, representing the shape and parts of the embryos, and determine whether, 

 in any instance, the caulicle is accumbent. 



