144 PARTS OF SEEDS. 



pearance of the plants which spring from the seed. 

 But as this subject is difficult, I will mention to you 

 only some of the principal parts into which seeds 

 are divided, and these are, chiefly, the Skin or 

 Husk, the Cotyl'edon, and the Embryo. 



The Skin, or Husk, is no more than a sort of 

 case, by which the parts within are defended from 

 injury; it is commonly of a darker colour than 

 the parts which it contains. 



The Lobes, or Cotyledons, immediately sur- 

 round the Embryo ; and when the stem has begun 

 to grow, they generally appear upon the surface 

 along with it, in the form of the first leaf or leaves. 

 When there is only one lobe, the plant is said to 

 be Monocotyle'donous ; when two it is called 

 Dicotyle'donous, which is by far the most nume- 

 rous division. Other seeds have a greater number 

 of Cotyledons than two ; and some have none at 

 all. 



The Embryo is the future plant in miniature, 

 and in general is exceedingly small. Linnaeus 

 calls it the Cor'culum, or little heart. It is the 

 portion which all the rest of the seed is intended to 

 nourish and protect, and is itself divided into two 

 parts ; one called the Plu'mula, which always grows 

 upwards, and becomes the stem and branches of the 

 future plant ; the other, which is called the Rad'icle, 

 becomes the root, and grows down into the earth. 

 These parts may be readily distinguished in the 



