34 



Principles of Plant Culture. 



plantlet emerges from the soil without freeing itself 

 from the seed-case and is hampered for a time. This 

 provision is peculiar to the pumpkin family,* to which 

 the pumpkin, squash, cucumber and melon belong, 

 though other provisions which accomplish the same end 



FIG. 7. Showing nature's provision to enable the pumpkin 

 plantlet to escape from the seed-case. In A, the hook on the 

 hypocotyl is attached to the lower half of the seed-case. B shows 

 the same after germination is farther advanced. A fully-germi- 

 nated pumpkin plantlet is shown at Fig. 8. 



are found in a few other families, but many plants aTe 

 considerably held back by the seed-case during ger- 

 mination. 



42. Seeds of the Pumpkin Family should be Planted 

 Flatwise, rather than edgewise or endwise, since in this 

 position they most readily free themselves from the 



43. Some Plantlets Need Help to Burst the Seed- 

 Case. In many seeds having hard and strong seed- 

 cases, as the walnut, butternut and hickory nut and the 



* Natural order Cucurbitaceae. 



