oe F 
xii INTRODUCTORY LESSONS. 
a. Section of a seed of Peonia Brownii, showing the small embryo at the 1igh: .n the copious albu- 
‘men. b. The embryo removed and the cotyledons separated. c. The germinating seed d. The “ame, 
with the seed coats removed to show the leaf-like cotyledons. e. Plumule bud, or real end 01 .1e un- 
-ward-growing stem. jf. The first plumule leaf as it appears above ground, the terminal bud yet dormant 
under ground. g. Seed of Pinus Sabiniana (Digger, Willow, or Nut Pine) soon after it appears above 
ground. h. Same, with the seed coats removed to show the 14 cotyledons. See Fig. 9, p. vit 
You must have wondered why the cotyledons of a bean, which 
never become leaf-like, should appearabove ground. It is equally strange 
that the albuminous seeds of the peony should behave in the reverse 
way. As shown in the cut (a and 5b), the embryo is very small, In 
germination the plumule comes up while the cotyledons become decidedly 
leaf-like, and fill the shell which has been emptied of its albumen to feed 
them and the plumule. These thin, veiny seed leaves could certainly do 
better work above ground than those of most lupines, yet they never come 
up. There is another curious thing about the growth of peony seeds, 
~which you may try to discover. 
When the buckwheat and cotton seeds have begun to sprout, 
-you can study their embryos. Note how the thin, broad cotyledons of 
the former are folded once and rolled up with a layer ot snow-white 
starch; and how the speckled seed leaves of the latter are folded along 
the center, then outwardly back, and finally crumpled endwise to make 
them fit coats too short for them. Maple seeds have curiously c:ampled 
aud folded cotyledons. Indeed, all seeds have interesting lessons to 
teach us. 
Germination of Monocotyledonous Seeds. The seeds named 
