78 



REPRODUCTION 



The examination of the seed of a large number of differ- 

 ent kinds of plants will show great variation in the relative 

 sizes of the embryos and the amount of the food supply, and 

 will suggest many germination tests and growth experiments. 



FIG. 61. a, diagrammatic drawing of stamen and pistil showing longitudinal section of 

 ovule. The pollen tube ia entering through the micropyle; b, longitudinal diagrammatic sec- 

 tion of ovule showing the formation of the embryo. 



Advantages of the Seed Method. It is very evident that 

 sexual reproduction is higher ani more complicated than non- 

 sexual reproduction, but let us see if it is of any advantage. It 

 is necessarily much slower than reproduction by buds, but the 



