CHAPTER II 



STORAGE OF FOOD IN THE SEED 



14. Food in the Embryo. — Squash seeds are not much 

 used for human food, though both these and melon seeds 

 are occasionally eaten in parts of Europe ; but beans and 

 peas are important articles of food. Whether the material 

 accumulated in the cotyledons is an aid to the growth of 

 the young plant may be learned from a simple experiment. 



15. Mutilated and Perfect Seedlings. — One of the best 

 ways in which to find out the importance and the special 



use of any part of 

 a plant is to re- 

 move the part in 

 question and see 

 how the plant be- 

 haves afterward. 



EXPERIMENT V" 



Are the Cotyledons 

 of a Pea of any Use 

 to the Seedling ? — 

 Sprout several peas on 

 blotting paper. When 

 the plumules appear, 

 cj,refully cut away the cotyledons from some of the seeds. Place on 

 a perforated cork, as shown in Fig. 4, one or two seedlings from 



1 May be a home experiment. 

 14 



FiQ. 4, — Germinating Peas, growing in Water, one 

 depriyed of its Cotyledons. 



