. The book of the farm : detailing the labors of the farmer, steward, plowman, hedger, cattle-man, shepherd, field-worker, and dairymaid. Agriculture. SOWING AUTUMN WHEAT. 421. Fig. 433. is mostly hid beneath the skins; c is the little scale or cotyledon through which the nutritive mat- ter passes in the sweetish state, when the grain is germinating, and by which it is rendered most fit for the nourishment of the little plant; d is the rudimentary plant, at the base of which 3 tubers may be seen, from which as many roots or stems, or both, will afterward proceed ; and e is the point where all
. The book of the farm : detailing the labors of the farmer, steward, plowman, hedger, cattle-man, shepherd, field-worker, and dairymaid. Agriculture. SOWING AUTUMN WHEAT. 421. Fig. 433. is mostly hid beneath the skins; c is the little scale or cotyledon through which the nutritive mat- ter passes in the sweetish state, when the grain is germinating, and by which it is rendered most fit for the nourishment of the little plant; d is the rudimentary plant, at the base of which 3 tubers may be seen, from which as many roots or stems, or both, will afterward proceed ; and e is the point where all the 3—the nutritive matter, the little scale, and the rudimentary plant—are united. All these parts are essential to the growth of the .seed ; for, when any one of them is absent by accident or design, the seed fails to spring. (2334.) The seeds of almost every species of plant naturally possess such a structure that only 1 stem can from them ; but in the grasses, and more particularly in the cereal —that is. those w^hich yield corn—there is observed a remarkable departure from this form of parts. In them the embryo plant is usuall3' thickened toward its base, and so organized that, instead of 1 stem. 3 or 4 usuallj' spring from 1 grain ; awl. in other cases, a number of stems so great has issued as al- most to exceed belief The peculiarity mentioned may be observed at d. fig. 432, which is the rudimentary plant, having 3 projectious in the lower part, while in another seed there would have only been 1 ; and from each of these a rootlet or a stem, or both, will proceed when the grain is placed in the soil. Fig. 433 represents the grain in a state of the parts germination, 1 shoot a having left the sheath, another b is just evolved, of a grain of wheat. and a third c remains unevulved ; and d d ai'e the rootlets. It is this peculiarity of structure which compensates, in some degree, for the loss arising from the destruc- tion of seed. The germ
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectagriculture, bookyear
