CHAPTER I. 



The Seed and its G-ermination. 



1. Germination of Squasfi^Seed.— Soa.'k some squash-seeds in tepid 

 water for twelve liours or more. Plant these about an inch deep in 

 damp sand or pine sawdust in a wooden box which has had holes enough 

 bored through the bottom so that it will not hold water. Put the box 

 in a warm place (not at any time over 70° or 80° Fahrenheit), and 

 cover it loosely with a board or a pane of glass. Keep the sand or saw- 

 dust moist, but not wet, and the seeds will germinate. As soon as any 

 of the seeds, on being dug up, are found to have burst open, sketch one 

 in this condition, noting the manner in which the outer seed-coat is split, 

 and continue to make sketches at intervals of two days, until at least 

 eight stages in the growth of the plantlet have been noted. ^ 



Observe particularly how the sand is pushed aside by the rise of the 

 young seedlings, and make one sketch to show what part of the plant first 

 appears above the surface. Suggest some reason for the manner in 

 which the sand is penetrated by the rising stem. 



The student need not feel that he Is expected to make finished draw- 

 ings to record what he sees, but some kind of sketch, if only the merest 

 outline, is indispensable. Practice and the study of the illustrations 

 hereafter given will soon give some facility even to those who have had 

 little or no instruction in drawing. Consult here Figs. 5 and 7. 



2. Examination of the Squash-Seed. — Make a sketch of the dry seed, 

 natural size. Note the little scar at the pointed end of the seed where the 

 latter was attached to its place of growth in the squash. Label this hilum. 



Describe the color and texture of the outer coating of the seed. With 

 a scalpel or a very sharp knife cut across near the middle a seed that has 

 been soaked in water for 24 hours. Squeeze one of the portions, held 

 edgewise between the thumb and finger, in such a way as to separate 

 slightly the halves into which the contents of the seed is naturally 

 divided. Examine with the magnifying glass the section thus treated, 



1 The class is not to wait for the completion of this work (which may, if desirable, 

 he done by each pupil at home), but is to proceed at once with the examination of the 

 squash-seed and of other seeds, as directed in the following sections, and to set some 

 beans to sprouting, so that they may be studied along with the germinating squashes. 



