THE SEED. 



come to the hard shell. If we crack this carefully we can take 

 out " the meat " in one piece. We see that it is made up of 

 two parts joined together at one end. Notice at which end 

 of the shell the two parts are joined together. 



Now take another nut an almond. 

 We crack it ; the meat comes out in one 

 compact piece. ' We place this in water 

 for a couple of minutes and then we 

 carefully rub off the coating. We find 

 that the white almond will separate into Fig. ,. -AH Almond showing 

 two parts that are joined together at one ffi? ftSTSftft 

 end, very much as in the hickory nut. ^ ^ u ,di 

 We find also that there is a tiny tip stem - 

 between these two parts. The nut appears to be made up of 

 two thick leaves joined to a very short stem. It is somewhat like 

 a plant with a short stalk, having two big leaves, but no roots. 



Fiz. 2. An Acorn cut 

 in two. 



Fig. 3. A Horse-Chestnut 

 cut in two showing seed 

 leaves and tip. 



Fig. 5.- A 



Pumpkin- 

 Seed. 



We can examine the seeds of the acorn, the horse-chestnut, 

 the apple, the pea, the bean, and the pumpkin, and we find 

 them all made up or put together in much the same form. If 

 we open up other seeds, however, we may find some that have 

 only one seed-leaf, and some that have more than two. What 

 do you find in the maple tree seed ? 



THE SPROUTING OF THE SEED. When a seed begins to 

 grow, it is said to sprout. Seeds do not begin to grow in the 

 ground in winter, nor will they sprout in summer if they are 



