156 THE NATURE AND WORK OF PLANTS 



a palm. The material necessary for the work con- 

 sists of a few stripped nuts, such as are offered for 

 sale in every village, and some from which the 

 husks have not been taken. The latter may be 

 obtained from merchants dealing extensively in 

 tropical fruits. 



Two or more each of the whole fruits, and the 

 same number of stripped nuts, should be placed in 

 moist sawdust or soil in a box two or three times 

 its size, and kept in a comfortable living room or 

 greenhouse if the work is to be done in winter. 

 In the summer it may be placed in the ground 

 like any seed. The time necessary for germination 

 is from six to ten weeks. This will furnish ger- 

 minated seeds for examination, and will also show 

 whether the husk is necessary for germination or not. 



I. Size and appearance of the fruit. 



Make an examination of the entire fruit, and 



note : 



a. The shape of the base and apex, and gen- 

 eral form of fruit. Three wide short 

 bracts may be found adhering to the 

 base; these are from the envelopes of 

 the flower, and may be the calyx. The 



