TEXT BOOK .OF 
ELEMENTARY BOTANY. 
CHAPTER I 
GERMINATION 
In order to watch the process of germination, seeds should 
be soaked for twenty-four hours and, if possible, grown in 
damp air. This can be managed in the case of such seeds as 
pea or bean, by pinning them to the cork of a glass bottle 
with a wide mouth ; the bottle should be kept half filled with 
water, in order tat. the air may be constantly moist. (See 
Fig 12.) Mustard and cress may be conveniently grown 
on flannel, or on a sponge, and seeds grow well in sawdust 
or cocoanut fibre; but under these conditions it is not 
possible to watch the whole process of germination, as it 
is when the seed is grown in damp air in a bottle. Acorns 
germinate well in little specimen vases nearly filled with 
water. 
Structure of lhe bean seed is convex on one side, and more 
Bean Seed. or Jess straight on the other; it is enclosed in a 
brown coat, called the testa. On one side is a black scar, 
denoting the attachment of the stalk of the seed. Along the 
straighter side of the bean a triangular structure is easily 
seen through the testa, the apex of the triangle pointing 
towards the scar. This is the radicle, from which the first or 
primary root arises. A little hole, through which water is 
seen oozing out when the bean has been previously soaked, 
