The ovules do then become seeds in their little cells, and are, in their turn, shed out when ripe.
But do they turn into real seeds directly the pollen gets down?
By no means. Nourishment and time are necessary to growth and change. I must explain further about the seed. Beneath the integument or covering of ordinary seeds, as a pea, what do you observe, Willie?
I have seen the two halves of the seed show themselves, when the skin breaks, and the plant seems to grow from between them.
Your two halves are the lobes or cotyledons of the seed. These fleshy substances enclose the embryo, from which the leaves and roots proceed. The upper part, from which the leaves arise, is the Plumula, or little plume, or feather. That from which the rootlet proceeds is the Radicle, or root part: sometimes it is called the Rostellum, or little beak.
Of what use are the cotyledons, father?
They supply nourishment to the central portion, which is to develop the plumula and rostellum, and thus surround them. A sort of passage of communication exists between them. There is, also, a neck between the plumula and rostellum.
What is that scar upon the seed?
The point at which it was attached in its vessel.
Well, now I think I really do understand all the mysteries of tree growing. Like as a young animal suckles its parent until strong enough to manage other food, so does a young plant depend upon the cotyledon for provision, until its rootlets are able to search the soil, and leaflets absorb from the air.