12 NATURE TEACHING. 



conditions, are rendered much more certain. 



14. The seeds of the castor-oil plant and 

 the physic -nut are albuminous ; when germi- 

 nation takes place the albumen is withdrawn 

 from the seed-coat together with the cotyle- 

 dons, the albumen remaining attached to the 

 back of the cotyledons. The plant food is 

 then absorbed during the first few days after 

 germination. 



1 5. The seeds of the grasses and cereals 

 are all albuminous, the manner in which the 

 store of plant food is absorbed during germina- 

 tion can be studied in the case of corn (maize). 

 Some grains of corn should be planted on three 

 or four successive days, in moist sand or saw- 

 dust, so as to furnish a number of grains in 

 which the process of germination has pro- 

 gressed to several successive stages ; these 

 should then be compared with grains in an 

 ungerminated condition and with some which 

 have merely been soaked for a few hours in 

 water to soften them. 



16. On examining the grains, the embryo 

 or germ will be seen as a white patch lying on 

 one side oi the grain near the pointed end ; in 

 the case of those grains which have been 

 soaked it will be found that the embryo can 



