56 SEEDS 



Conclusion. State the peculiarities of a grain of corn, 

 making mention of the number of seed leaves and the loca- 

 tion of the food. 



Note. All seeds are of one of two classes; namely, those^ having 

 two seed leaves (cotyledons), like bean, pea, etc., and those having 

 only one seed leaf, like corn. Some seeds, such as those of the 

 pines, have more than two cotyledons. Such embryos are said to 

 be polycotyledonous. The orange seed sometimes has from two 

 to seven cotyledons of unequal size; but this is a monstrosity. 

 Polycotyledons are regarded as dicotyledons whose seed leaves are 

 cleft into two or more parts. Dodder seeds are destitute of coty- 

 ledons. 



Most seeds of monocotyle plants are so small that the single coty- 

 ledon is not always easily seen. It is therefore often a better plan 

 to leave this fact to be shown later, after germination. 



Suggestion. Study other large seeds, such as the date, 

 wheat, Brazil nut, etc., and notice the similarity. In what 

 remarkable respects does the coconut differ? 



Food Materials in Seeds 



Select any number of seeds and test each sort for the 

 various nutrients. 



Find answers to the following: 



1. What nutrients are found in wheat? In corn, rye, 

 rice, barley, beans, peas? 



2. Does an orange seed contain starch ? 



3. Is oil found in apple and pear seeds ? 



4. Do various nut meats, which taste so sweet, contain 

 sugar ? 



Seed Extractives 



Some seeds contain bitter or poisonous oils. These serve 

 to protect the young from destruction by animals. Vanilla, 



