ON THE SEED. 239 



Mrs. B. Very true : the whole of the leguminous and 

 the cruciform family, as well as several others, have no 

 albumen. But the gramineous family, which includes 

 all the various species of corn and grasses, are in great 

 need of this auxiliary ; for not only do they belong to the 

 class of monocotyledons, but their single cotyledon is so 

 small, that, although slightly fleshy, it affords but very 

 little nourishment. But let us seek for an example on a 

 larger scale : you have, I dare say, eaten the white sub- 

 stance which lines the shell of the cocoa-nut ? 



Caroline. Frequently : it has the consistence, and 

 somewhat the taste, of an almond. This, then, is albu- 

 men ; but what is the water that fills the cavity of the 

 nut? It cannot be the more fluid part of the amnios, as 

 this, you say, is absorbed when the albumen is deposited. 



Mrs. B. The seed of the cocoa-nut is very large, and 

 the embryo plant very small ; so that the latter cannot 

 absorb the whole of the amnios, and it is the residue 

 which constitutes the water of the cocoa-nut. Albumen, 

 you will observe, does not, like the cotyledons, consti- 

 tute a part of the embryo plant ; it is merely a deposition 

 of wood for its use. The embryo is in general much 

 larger in seeds which have no albumen. 



Caroline. Of course, such embryos carry their store 

 of food about them, as a snail carries its house upon its 

 back : they must therefore occupy more space ; and, the 

 whole cavity within the spermoderm being vacant, they 

 have more space to occupy. 



Mrs. B. All that is contained within the spermoderm, 

 whether it consist of the embryo plant and albumen, or 

 whether of the embryo plant alone, is called the nucleus, 

 kernel, or almond of the seed. 



Emily. The amnios, then, either in its entire substance, 

 or a fluid secretion from it, is destined to feed the em- 

 bryo plant, while the young seed is embosomed in the 

 flower. The albumen and cotyledons afford a coarser 

 sort of food, reserved for the future nourishment of the 

 seed when it germinates. 



1304. What plants have no albumen! 1305. What ones are in 

 great need of id 1306. What is said of the seed, the embryo plant, 

 and the amnios of the cocoa-nut! 1307. In what seeds is the embryo 

 the largest! 1308. What is called the nucleus by what other names 

 is it called! 



