CHAPTER XXXII 



THE GEAIN OF WHEAT 



' 1VT0W turn your attention to this picture of an ivy 

 ±\ seed cut through lengthwise. Where is the 

 germ or little plant in its egg? It is that little white 

 thing, rather long and narrow, embedded in the sub- 

 stance of the seed at one end. A fine line 

 marks the division of the two cotyledons, 

 which are now pressed close together. 

 Next to them comes the tigella, or little 

 stalk, ending in the radicle, or rootlet. 

 Notice, my friends, how small these coty- ^section"?} 

 ledons are, how different from the enor- Ivy Seed 

 mous nursing-leaves of the ^almond, acorn, broad 

 bean, kidney bean, and pea. These poor little plant- 

 udder-s must soon get dried up, and if there were no 

 other resources available at the time of germination 

 the ivy would speedily starve to death. 



"But look: under the skin of the seed we find a 

 goodly store of farinaceous matter, in which the 

 germ is embedded. Almost the whole of the seed 

 consists of this accumulation of flour. So here we 

 have the food-supply that will supplement that con- 

 tained in the cotyledons, a very insufficient provision 

 in itself. This granary of plenty within which the 

 germ is lodged, this storehouse of food is called the 



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