54 CHARACTER AND PARTS OF SEEDS. 



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stem and the leaves, the cotyledons wither and die. These vary in dif- 

 ferent plants ; and some, as the cryptogamous plants, mosses, etc., have 

 none. Those having but one are called Mono-cotyledons, as the grasses, 

 etc. ; those with two are Di-cotyledons, which include the greatest 

 number of plants, as peas, beans, etc., and those having more than 

 two are Poly-cotyledons, as the hemlock, pines, etc. As the number of 

 cotyledons or lobes rarely vary in the same family of plants, the fact has 

 been adopted by some as the bases of bontanical classification. Some 

 remain below and others appear above ground, by the elongation of 

 the neck or life-knot, as cabbage, radishes, mustard, etc. By placing 

 a piece of cotton in a tumbler of water with a few seeds of wheat or 

 rye, upon it, the fibres of the seeds will soon be seen to shoot from 

 them perpendicularly downwards in quest of the water, an obvious 

 instinct of the vital parts of the seed. 



The embryo, the most important part of the ,-eed, and to which all other 

 parts seem subservient, is the point from which the life and organization 

 of the plant originate. It is plainly seen in some seeds, (di-cotyledons,) 

 as the apple, bean, orange, etc. ; but in others it is not easily discovered. 

 It consists of the plume and radical. The plume ascends and displays 

 itself in herbage, while the radical descends and appears as roots. 



The plume or gemlet is a small thin body, like a feather, in the 

 cavity of the seed-lobe or cotyledon when there is but one, and be- 

 tween the two, when there are that number. It is the bud and all 

 parts proceed from it. 



The size, form and number of seeds vary greatly. Some, as the mus- 

 tard, are globular ; others, as the bean, are oblong ; others, as buck- 

 wheat, are angular. Some plants have one seed, others two, four, 

 or thousands. A corn-stalk will produce 2,000, the poppy 8,000, and a 

 single thistle seed from the 1st crop 24,000, and the 2d crop 576,000,000. 

 The sizes of seeds are 4 ; large, from the size of a walnut to the cocoa- 

 nut, middle size, from a hazel nut to a millet seed ; small, from those 

 of the poppy to the bell-flower and minute, like dust, as in ferns and 

 mosses. 



12 13 



oo 



"14 15 iV 17 13 19 20 



The above cut represents various and peculiar forms of seeds. 

 No. 1 is the Tuberose, 2 Spanish Brown, 3 Acanthus, 4 Euphorbia, 

 5 Spider Wort, 6 Jonquil, 7 Lily, 8 Sycamore, 9 Comfrey, 10 Borage, 

 11 Violet, 12 Trefoil, 13 St. John's Wort, 14 Convolvulus, 15 Sun- 

 flower, 16 Pompion, 17 Geranium, 18 Pink, 19 Passion Flower, 20 

 Campanula. 



