OF THE ROOT. 23 
embryo, or young plant, and if examined with a glass 
will present the appearance as represented at f. 8. e. 
20. If a few grains are set to grow, and examined 
at different stages of their growth, the radicle and 
plumule will become apparent, and also the wheat will 
be found to possess but one seed-lobe or cotyledon ; the 
whole of the substance which is outside the notch or 
cavity, being a large mass of Albumen. This is a 
remarkable kind of seed, the characters of which 
should be carefully noted, as it will be referred to at 
another time. F. 9. represents a grain of wheat begin- 
ning to grow; ¢. represents the cotyledon; p. the 
plumule; 7.7. the radicles; and the dotted line round 
the whole, the mass of the Albumen. 
21. To sum up then the differences in seeds : 
1st. In the Bean and Almond, we find a kernel, 
consisting of the two cotyledons, and the germ of the 
plant (called the heart); while in the Beet and 
Spinach, and some other seeds, the kernel (viz. the 
cotyledons, and the germ together), is surrounded by 
a mass of meal or other substance, which is termed 
Albumen. 
Qnd. That some seeds are found to possess but one 
cotyledon, as in Wheat, Oat, Rice, Lily, &c. 
OF THE ROOT. 
22, When the Root first descends, it generally does 
so in the form of a principal or main root, called also 
a tap-root, as in the Carrot, and long Radish: it may 
afterwards divide or branch off into a number of 
fibres, as represented at pl.if.4. It often happens 
