136 THE SEED. [LESSON 21. 



apply to seeds just as they do to ovules (325) ; and so do those 

 terms which express the direction of the ovule or the seed in the 

 cell ; such as erect, ascending, horizontal, pendulous, or suspended 

 (323) : therefore it is not necessary to explain them anew. The 

 accompanying figures (Fig. 319-322) show all the parts of the 

 most common kind of seed, namely, the anatropous. 



372. The Kernel, or Nucleus, is the whole body of the seed within the 

 coats. In many seeds the kernel is all Embryo ; in others a large 

 part of it is the Albumen. 



373. The Albumen of the seed is an accumulation of nourishing 

 matter (starch, &c.), commonly surrounding the embryo, and des- 

 tined to nourish it when it begins to grow, as was explained in the 

 earlier Lessons (30-32). It is the floury part of wheat, corn (Fig. 

 38, 39), buckwheat, and the like. But it is not always mealy in 

 texture. In Poppy-seeds it is oily. In the seeds of Paeony and 

 Barberry, and in the cocoanut, it is fleshy ; in coffee it is corneous 

 (that is, hard and tough, like horn) ; in the Ivory Palm it has the 

 hardness as well as the general appearance of ivory, and is now 

 largely used as a substitute for it in the fabrication of small objects. 

 However solid its texture, the albumen always softens and partly 

 liquefies during germination ; when a considerable portion of it is 

 transformed into sugar, or into other forms of fluid nourishment, on 

 which the growing embryo may feed. 



374. The Embryo, or Germ, is the part to which all the rest of the 

 seed, and also the fruit and the flower, are subservient. When the 

 embryo is small and its parts little developed, the albumen is the 

 more abundant, and makes up the principal bulk of the seed, as in 

 Fig. 30, 321, 325. On the other hand, in many seeds there is no 

 albumen at all ; but the strong embryo forms the whole kernel ; as 

 in the Maple (Fig. 2, 3), Pumpkin (Fig. 9), Almond, Plum, and 

 Apple (Fig. 11, 12), Beech (Fig. 13), and the like. Then, what- 

 ever nourishment is needed to establish the plantlet in the soil is 

 stored up in the body of the embryo itself, mostly in its seed-leaves. 

 And these accordingly often become very large and thick, as in the 

 almond, bean, and pea (Fig. 1C, 19), acorn (Fig. 21), chestnut, and 

 horsechestnut (Fig. 23, 24). Besides these, Fig. 25, 26, 30 to 37, 

 43, and 45 exhibit various common forms of the embryo ; and also 

 some of the ways in which it is placed in the albumen ; being 

 sometimes straight, and sometimes variously coiled up or packed 

 away. 



