Stages in the Germination of Wheat.
Some wheat seeds were soaked and cut down the middle. With the aid of the glass, the boys saw that in the wheat seed the baby plant is attached to one large mass of plant-food, made up of flour with an outside layer of bran.
Their uncle then told them that all the flowering plants in the world are of two great families, namely, those whose seeds have only one food store, like the wheat grain, and those whose seeds have two, like the bean.
Exercises on Lesson V.
1. Explain all that happens when a horse-chestnut bud opens. 2. Why do the buds which you force indoors wither after they open? 3. What changes come over your bean seeds as they grow? 4. Do the young plants draw any food from the sawdust? If not, what feeds them? 5. What three things does a seed need in order to start growing?
1. Magnified sections of Maize and Wheat Seeds, showing Young Plant, Food Store, etc. 2. Germination of Maize. 3. Maize growing in Sawdust. 4. Maize growing in Tap Water. 5. Bean growing in Bottle over Water.
VI.—MORE ABOUT SEEDS.
It was raining in torrents outside, and the boys were a little upset inside, for it was Saturday. They always looked forward to Saturday, for it was their great rambling day.
“I’m afraid we can’t get out to-day,” said Frank, sadly.