226 
THE SEED AND THE SEEDLING 
LABORATORY STUDY OF CORN 
Draw a grain of corn, broad end up, 
with the side showing the depression 
towards you. Label (1) silk scar on one 
side of top; (2) scutellum (under de¬ 
pression); (3) stalk by which it was 
attached to the cob (hilum ?). 
Cut lengthwise a kernel that has been 
soaked for half a day. Label (1) em¬ 
bryo, young plant; (2) scutellum (cotyle¬ 
don) lying under embryo; (3) endosperm, 
store of food on which scutellum rests; 
(4) hard outer covering. Cut a kernel 
crosswise. Draw it, and label the parts 
as above. 
Remove the embryo.* Draw. Label 
plumule and root. Remove the scutel¬ 
lum. Draw. 
Remove the scutellum from each of 
several grains of corn when softened by 
soaking. Remove some of the white 
part of the grain. Apply the test for 
starch and decide whether the white 
part of a corn grain contains much starch. 
Now place a thin layer of moist corn 
starch in a watch glass and upon it lay 
several scutella. Cover with a bell jar 
and set in a warm place overnight. 
Then test with Fehling’s solution. What 
change has taken place? What is the 
name of the process which changes starch 
to sugar ? Invent an experiment to 
show the same change without removing 
the scutellum from the grain. (Hint, 
use wheat or oats.) 
Examine seedlings you can find in 
garden or field and classify them as mono¬ 
cotyledons or dicotyledons. 
Figure 216. — Advanced Corn 
Seedling. 
202. Classification of the Com¬ 
mon Seeds. — The comparative 
