56 ELEMENTS OF SEEDS, 



On the seventh it is much advanced, and on the ninth the plant is com- 

 pletely formed. The lobes then shrink and afterwards decay. The 

 lobes of the horse chestnut do not appear above ground, but send up 

 the gemlet which becomes the trunk of the tree. These organs may 

 be seen in the bean after soaking it a day or two in water and dividing 

 the lobes. A magnifying glass greatly adds to the pleasure of obser- 

 vation in seeds and all other parts of plants. 



The accompanying cut shows the two seed-lobes, or 

 cotyledons of a seed, with the radicle (a) and the plume 

 (b) as with the bean. 



The close of the life of annual plants and the sus- 

 pension of vegetation in woody and perennial plants is 

 signified by the maturity of their seeds. The diffusion of seeds will 

 be noticed in another place. 



The principal element of seeds is carbon, which they must part with 

 before they can grow. They therefore convert this carbon into car- 

 bonic acid by decomposing moisture or water, with the oxygen of 

 which the carbon forms the carbonic acid, while they incorporate 

 the hydrogen of the water with their tissue. This carbonic acid they 

 give out, when above the surface, in the dark, but by expo- 

 sure to light the oxygen is given off, and the carbon is again fixed. 

 The water which they absorb also softens and expands the parts and 

 forms the ap or blood, with which they begin a circulation. Heat sets 

 in motion, within the small cavities, the vital principle which thus be- 

 ginning to act never ceases till death. All the parts now enlarge, 

 and new ones are formed by a mucilage which seeds form for that 

 purpose. The radicle or root penetrates the soil in search of food, while 

 the young stem rises and unfolds its rudimentary leaves to the light 

 for the absorption of carbonic acid from the air, to form the solid 

 matter of the plant. 



The selection of seeds is an important object. It is a law of nature 

 that like produces like." A disregard, therefore, of a principle so 

 obvious in this particular, must be attended with lasting evils, whilst 

 the contrary must ensure equally enduring and important results. 

 Every variety may be improved, or new and valuable ones formed, by 

 attention to this subject. Let those seeds be selected, then, from the 

 earliest and best fruits. Some plants of every crop will be found to 

 be earlier and superior to others ; from such should annually be se- 

 lected the best seeds, and in time the result cannot be otherwise than 

 plain and important. Peas and beans maturing early from long and 

 full pods on vines growing abundantly, seeds from the stalks and 

 ears of the corn plants selected on the field with like attention ; 

 and the best seeds from onions, etc., early ripe and of good form ; and 

 indeed good seeds of all other kinds, will insure early and improved 



