34 



Principles of Plant Culture. 



to catch the seed- case, as in D, and so the 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 pro- 

 visions which accomplish the same end are found in a 

 few other families, but many plants are considerably held 

 back by the seed-case during germination. 



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-germinated pumpkin plantlet is shown at Fig. 8. 



43. 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 seed- 

 case. 



44. 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 pits of the 



* Natural order Cucurbitaceee. 



