A STUDY OF WHEAT. 21 



tory of the blossoms, is for the development of the life-germ 

 contained within the embryo, and when this is produced the 

 whole plant dies. The hard coats we have already described 

 are made only to protect the starch and albumen of the center, 

 and to give warmth to the embryo, while the starch and albu- 

 men, which are stored away in such profusion in the grain, 

 are only formed to give nourishment to the germ while it 



Fig. 2. Hexagonal Cells from the Central Part of a Grain of Wheat, 

 a, shows a Cell filled with Starch Grains. X 100. 



grows. The structure of the embryo will form a study by itself, 

 as it is very complicated, containing within itself all the parts 

 of the new plant, which it will produce when placed under 

 favorable circumstances. 



Fig. 3 gives a diagramatic view of the "bran" of wheat, or 

 of all the different coats, and of the outer layer of cells con- 

 taining the albumen and gluten. Any of my readers who have 

 examined the wheat with the microscope know how difficult it 

 is to separate the first and second fruit-coats. They almost 

 always are seen together, as in the figure, while very generally 

 the round cells of the albumen are seen together with the dif- 

 ferent fruit-coats, particularly with the inner fruit-coat. When the 

 outer fruit-coat is examined with the microscope, and is in focus, 

 the middle coat is not seen distinctly; occasionally is caught a 

 glimpse of the beaded structure. Very frequently the three 

 fruit-coats are together, as in the figure. Just beneath the 

 third fruit-coat are seen the canals. The two seed-coats seen 

 just below the canals, and at the lower right-hand corner of the 



