SEED GERMINATION 



75 



parts of a plant will make to grow in the right direction, 

 may be interestingly shown in the following manner : 



Fill a cigar box with moist chaff or moss, and lay two 

 grains of corn, germ side up, upon this material. A piece 

 of window glass should now be fastened over the chaff 

 and seed, and the box set on edge so the tips of the grains 

 point downward. Moisten and allow them to germinate. 



Fig. 24. — Seedling plants trying to grow upward. The box has been 

 turned over and the sprout.s have changed their direction of growth. 



When the root and stem sprouts have become about an 

 inch in length, turn the box over so that the tips of the 

 grains point upward. Notice how the sprouts turn about, 

 one to grow toward the earth, the other toward the light. 



53. The Embryo becomes a Seedling. — An embryo 

 becomes a seedling when it germinates. It remains a 

 seedling as long as it depends upon the reserve food stored 

 for it in the seed. Under favorable conditions for growth, 



