194 VEGETABLE ORGANOGRAPHY. 



Palm, of which the albumen occupies so large a portion. 

 The Cocoa-Nut, in its young state, is filled with a watery 

 fluid, which soon becomes of the consistence of an 

 emulsion, and then takes the name of milk ; it is at this 

 period that it is made use of as a beverage ; soon, the 

 solid part suspended in the emulsion is deposited, and 

 concretes upon the walls of the seed in a state which 

 does not bear a bad resemblance, in consistence, to our 

 Almonds, and which is edible as they are. Finally, 

 this amygdalaceous deposit hardens and forms an albu- 

 men with a slightly oily flesh which lines the walls of 

 the seed; the centre, at first occupied by a watery fluid, 

 is converted into an empty cavity by the evaporation and 

 absorption of this water. What I have described in the 

 Cocoa-Nut, takes place in all other seeds where albumen 

 is formed, except that this substance usually fills the 

 whole cavity without leaving any space, and its size, 

 form, nature, and position vary in different plants. 



In a seed of a given size, the volume of the albumen 

 is essentially in an inverse ratio to that of the embryo. 

 The families in which the albumen is larger in proportion 

 than the embryo, are the Palmas, Liliaceae and neigh- 

 bouring families, Euphorbiaceae, Nyctagineae, Rubiaceas, 

 Umbelliferae, Ranunculacena, &c. ; it is met with, but in 

 much less proportion, in the Convolvulaceae, Violarieas, 

 &c. ; it exists only in certain genera in the Labiatae ; 

 lastly, it is completely wanting in the Cruciferae, Legumi- 

 nosae, Compositae, &c. The families which have no 

 albumen, have the embryo large ; in those furnished 

 with it, the embryo is sometimes of extraordinaiy 

 minuteness ; thus, in Ranunculaceae and Umbelliferae, 

 it frequently presents only a small niche in the albumen, 

 near the base of the seed. In general, we must remark 

 that it is hardly ever absent in any family of Monocoty- 

 ledons ; the Alismaceas alone appear devoid of it, whilst 



