"Yes; and now you notice this from which the covering has not yet fallen. You see the same parts, and if you could look at one of these dry seeds through a microscope you would see coiled around inside, the same three parts; now when the seed is planted, we cannot tell how, but in some way, the moisture of the earth and the warmth cause the little plantlet which we call the embryo, to swell and grow. It soon bursts the walls of its house, and the two seed-leaves which we call cotyledons, expand. The little stem which we call the radicle, pushes up and supports them, while from the opposite end the root begins to grow. I think if you will look carefully under that beech-tree, you will find some beech-nuts which have just sprouted. I used to gather them when I was a little girl; the crisp seed-leaves are very palatable."
For a little while the children were busy looking for "beech-nut sprouts," while Mrs. Browne sat under her green canopy enjoying the clear air and the fresh wood odors.
Then the lesson was gone over again.
"What are these called?" touching the tiny seed-leaves.
"Cotyledons!" answered Ella promptly, the others coming in more slowly upon the same word.
"And this?" pointing to the slender stem bearing the cotyledons at the top.
"The radicle."
"And what do we call the whole as it lies coiled up in the nut before it is planted?"
"The embryo!"
"That will do for this morning," said Mrs. Browne.