THE GRAIN OF WHEAT 



157 



a notable illustration of this truth. Cut lengthwise 

 and looked at through a magnifying-glass, this seed 

 would reveal to us what is represented in the pic- 

 ture I now show you. At the bottom and toward one 

 side is the germ, forming but a very small part of 

 the seed. At c is the single cotyledon, whence will 

 come the first leaf, the seminal leaf. At e is the gem- 

 mule, which will furnish the next leaves. At the op- 

 posite end is a short nipple, the radicle, whence the 

 root will spring. Now compare the tiny cotyledon of 

 the wheat with the two voluminous ones of the al- 

 mond. The latter, with their rich 

 store of nourishment, will easily be 

 able to feed the young plant until it 

 has vigorous roots ; but the cotyledon 

 of the wheat, so poor and slender — 

 can it nourish the young plant? 

 Certainly not. Then the wheat germ 

 must without fail have a storehouse 

 of provisions. This storehouse is 

 the perisperm (pr), a farinaceous 

 mass constituting nearly the whole 

 of the seed. This same perisperm, 

 the first food of the wheat's first shoot, is also the 

 chief food of man ; it is what, under the millstone, 

 becomes flour, of which bread is made. But how 

 can the farinaceous substance of the perisperm nour- 

 ish the plant? A very simple experiment will show 

 us. Put some wheat in a saucer and keep it slightly 

 moist. In a short time the seed will germinate. As 

 soon as the young sprouts show their green points 



Longitudinal 

 Section of 

 a Grain of 

 Wheat 



