[CHAPTER II.]
LAYING THE FOUNDATION.
"COTYLEDONS, radicle, embryo! Cotyledons, radicle, embryo!" Bennie was saying these words over to himself, then he added, "The cotyledons are the seed-leaves, the ones that pop out of the seed after it has lain a while in the ground. The radicle is the little thing like a stem that supports the cotyledons, and from the other end of it the root begins to grow. I know so much, anyway! Then the embryo? Oh! that's the whole thing curled up in the seed."
"I wonder which mamma will tell us about this morning," said Ella as she and Tom skipped across the meadow, leaving Mrs. Browne to follow more leisurely with Bennie.
"The root, of course," said Tom; "the root is—well, it is the root of the whole thing. The foundation, you know."
"I hate foundations; that is what Miss Lyman is always saying, 'Young ladies, lay the foundation well!' I thought we would get away from all that in vacation," and she laughed merrily.
"Well, there can't be a great deal to be said about roots, I am sure," returned Tom; "that'll comfort you, I suppose."
When they were all ready Mrs. Browne said:
"I think we will talk about roots to-day." Tom and Ella exchanged glances at this, but Mrs. Browne continued, "the root has two uses; it serves to fix and hold the plant firmly in the ground, and also it is the part of the plant that takes up food from the soil. The plant needs to be fed with certain minerals and gases, and these are dissolved in the moisture of the soil, and the water is sucked up by the roots."
