CHAPTER XXVH 



THE SEED 



' rilHE ovary of the flower, after being fertilized 

 J. by the pollen, becomes the fruit, the apple on 

 the apple-tree, the cherry on the cherry-tree, the 

 walnut on the walnut-tree, the grain of wheat in the 

 wheat-ear, and so on for all plants. The fruit con- 

 tains seeds in greater or less number, and some- 

 times only one, as in the peach, plum, and almond; 

 often several, as in the apple and pear ; while in other 

 instances they can be counted by hundreds and 

 thousands, as in the melon, the pumpkin, and the 

 poppy-head. The natural function of the fruit is 

 first to supply nourishment and then to protect its 

 seeds by means of coverings, these being sometimes 

 fleshy, sometimes thin and dry, sometimes hard and 

 in the form of strong shells. In their turn the seeds 

 have as their task the propagating of the species. 

 Every form of plant-life, from the giants of the 

 forest, the oak, beech, fir, and others, to the tiniest 

 moss, has its beginning in the seed. Every plant 

 has its flowers, its fruit, and its seeds. It is in the 

 seed that vegetation is preserved in a thriving con- 

 dition through the ages ; it is by the seed that every 

 tree, every shrub, every blade of grass propagate 

 their kind and leave a numerous progeny. 



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