CHAPTER XVI 



THE CAPABILITIES OF SEEDLINGS 



GIVEN some glass test tubes (such as are used in chemical laboratories), 

 a supply of corks, pins and blotting- 

 paper, it is possible to find out 

 a great deal about the habits of seed- 

 lings and what have been called their 

 instincts. 



Beans that have been soaked for 

 about twelve hours and kept under 

 moist but airy conditions, and from 

 which the roots have just begun to 

 sprout, should be got ready. One of 

 these should be fastened by means of a 

 pin to the under side of a cork, on the 

 side of which a groove has been cut, 

 and the young root directed so that it 

 will grow between the side of the 

 tube (into which the cork fits), and a 

 piece of damp blotting-paper placed 

 against it. Keep a little water in the 

 bottom of the tube and after the root 

 has grown somewhat, turn the tube 

 upside down so that it stands upon the 

 cork. Note the behaviour of the root. 



Keep a seedling in a tube into 

 which a cork has been fitted which 

 has no groove in its side. 



Half fill a tube with blotting-paper, drop in a bean, put a grooved 



. 



FIGURE 132. 



A Bean Seedling 



bursting the skin of 



the Seed. 



