skp:[)s. 



«3 



f5r our purpose. As tho pupil ji<lviincos further in his botanical studies, he will 

 learn much more about them, as well as about fruits and flowers, in tho I^essons 

 in liotany, and other works. 



254. A seed consists of its Coati^ and its Kernel. ^ Besides the true seed-coats, 

 which are those of the ovule, an outer loose cfiverin*,', generally ati iiiipcrfect 

 one, is occasionally supei-added while tho seed is giowini;. This is called an 

 Aril. Mace is the aril of the nutuK^fj. The scarlet pulj)y coveriu"; of tlie simmIs 

 of the Strawberry-tree and the StafV-trec oi- Waxwork is also an aril. 



255. The Seed-Coats are commonly two, an outer and an iiuicr ; tiic latter gene- 

 rally thin and delicate. 'I'he outer coat is sometimes cl(;se and even, and fitted to 

 the kernel, as in Morning-Cilory ( i^'ig. 227) ; some- 

 times it is furnished with a tuft of long hairs, as in 

 ]Milkweed (Fig. 229), or else is covered with long 

 woolly hairs, as in the Cotton-plant, wliere they 

 form that most \iseful material, Cotton-wool In 

 some cases (he outer coat is exiended into a 

 thin border or wing, as in the Trumpet Creeper 

 (Fig. 228). Catal pa -.seeds have a fringe-like wing 

 or tuft at each end. I'he seeds of Pines are 

 winged at one end (Fig. 226). All these luf(« 

 and wings are contrivances for rendering such seeds buoyant, so that, when shed, 

 they may be dispersed by the wind. Thistle-down, and the like, is a similar 

 contrivance on the fruit or akene. 



256. The seed is often supported by a stalk of its own, the Sifil-Ktalk. 

 Where the seed separates, it leaves a mai'k, called the Scar or Hi/nii). This is 

 conspicuous in a bean and a pea, and is remarkably largo in a hor.se-chestnut. 



257. The Kernel is the whole body of the seed A\itliin the coats. It consists 

 of the J'!iiihri/(>. and of the A/huineti, when there is any. 



258. The Albumen is a stock of prepared food, for the embryo to live u[;on at 

 the outset, in those" cases where it has not a similar supply laiil up in its 

 cotyledons (32-35, 45). In Fig. 17, 44, and 49, the seeds have albumen. In 

 Fig. 25, 32, 40, and 42, they have none, but the whole kernel consists of 



259. The Embryo, or i-udimentary jdantlet in miniature, the body in the seed 

 which grow.s. To this the seed, the fruit, and the blossom are all subservient. 

 The albumen of the seed, when there is any, is intended to nourish the embryo 



I 



