326 



that's it ; 



951 



953 *?sr 



The sycamore produces 

 winged seeds, which hang 

 in axillary pendulous ra- 

 cemes, 947. 



The sweet almond pro- 

 duces drupes, sessile, in 

 pairs, each drupe con- 

 taining a nut curiously 

 perforated on its surface, 

 948. 



The walnut tree pro- 

 duces drupes, also con- 

 taining nuts, with cu- 

 riously convoluted shells 

 and kernels, 949. 



The chestnut is a fruit 

 contained within a strong 

 leathery coat, and this is 

 again surrounded with a 

 second coat, covered with 

 spines or bristles, 950. 



The hog-nut, another 

 description of walnut, pro- 

 duces a curious oblong 

 fruit and nut, with the 

 drupe divided into seg- 

 ments, 951. 



The heart-leaved klein- 

 hofia is seldom without 

 fruit, from the constant 

 succession of its flowers ; 

 the capsules are five- 

 angled, inflated, with five 

 one-seeded cells, 952. 



The thistle and the dan- 

 detion bear seeds clothed 

 in a light down, by which 

 they are scattered upon 

 the wind, 953. 



The common cypress 

 bears a compressed angular 

 cone, within the scales of 

 which the seeds are firmly 

 locked, 954. 



The long-leaved pine 

 bears a conical fruit, within 

 the scales of which the 

 winged seeds are lodged, 

 955. 



The cones of firs are 

 cylindrical, and generally 

 closer and smaller than 

 those of pines; they grow 

 terminal on the branches, 

 or sessile on the stems 

 and branches, and are 

 either solitary, or in 

 groups of two or more, 

 956, 957. 



These are a few of the various 

 kinds of fruits, -and their recep- 

 tacles ; and it will be observed 

 that they present the most curious 

 varieties, and that no two of the 

 forms which we have described 

 can be said to resemble each 

 other. 



But the seeds themselves are 

 even more curious than the ex- 

 ternal forms of their capsules and 

 receptacles. Some are smooth 

 as glass, others covered with 

 prickly points, others clothed in 

 down. They exhibit a variety 

 of curious markings, and some 

 of them display great richness of 

 colour. 



Having in our previous pages 

 traced the development of a plant, 

 from the germ to the seed, we 

 have only to add a few parti- 

 culars upon the germination of 

 the seed itself, to complete the 

 circle of information upon this 

 interesting subject. 



If we examine a seed — and a 

 garden bean is the best for the 

 purpose — we find that its ex- 



958. 959. 



ternal membrane is easily re- 

 moved, and then the bulk of the 

 seed may be readily divided, in 

 the direction of its length, into 

 two distinct portions, called coty- 

 ledons, 1. These enclose the 



