DOEMANT SEEDS. 241 



the pod itself. Upon this soft coucli the seeds 

 obtain warmth and protection from the cold. 

 The seeds themselves are protected by water- 

 proof coverings, capable of affording a certain 

 amount of protection from the cold ; and should 

 they prematurely fall by the too easy spUtting of 

 their silk-lined, horny envelope, there is still the 

 chance of their falling to the ground and lying 

 between substances which would render them 

 cold-proof. 



How marvellously diverse indeed are the pro- 

 visions made for protecting the delicate germ which 

 encloses the wonderful principle of vitality called 

 life ! In the Chestnut and Walnut there is first 

 the thick and prickly outer shell of green tissue, 

 then within that — in the case of the Walnut — there 

 is a stout hard shell, then a close covering of 

 brown skin, then the albunlinous matter which 

 immediately surrounds the actual plant- germ or 

 embryo. In the case of the Chestnut, there is 

 first— within the prickly outer, shell — an inner 

 glossy one like pohshed mahogany, and inside that 

 the brown skin enclosing the' mass of albumen. 

 ■ In the plum there is, inside the sweet, fleshy 



