The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-03-11
THE STUDY OF SEEDS.
,.s,aucrlve INDOOR PAsTlMe Win
MICROSCOPIC AID.


Ar. Secrets Which che Seed VIII
~. I,evsal-why DO 'sBig Oaks From
.,..,. Aoorns Grow."-Intsrsstins vss-
,.,,. of Many Common Seeds.
Nature may be studied by the Preside
oo,,ection Of various seeds, the small
-. ~ which requires a microscope to bring
80, aha full beauty of form and color. We
ous heen admiring the exquisite beauty
Good Of Panlownia imperiatis Of Japan.
,,'aor the microscope Il suggests silver
ona with lacelike wings Of daintiest web.
i', common pink seed resembles piece OF
90 orc beautifully carved. Each portu-
, ,sOn seed is tiny silver shell, while the
'a aSS of n beeonia suggests nuggets OF pur-
'O ,old Tobacco seeds, also, are gold COL
.s5 With pretty workings. bit OF En-
Itch sedge disoloses pale sea green
sshoath filed with plumed seed full OF
Grace and beauty.
Some of the most ordinary seeds tell
,.f..IIke tales Here IS a brown apple seed
hoso maturity was not accomplished
M ,.ho,t snecial care. Mother Nature has
'.,,onslv conceived that In cluster OF ap-
v,a blossoms the central flower shall open
at All around IL is a ring Of brilliant,
n ..nonsned buds with the under surface Of
,ho Metals most highly colored. This color
; ' ~ the petals on the underside assists
- the sucoessful fertilization of the GEN.
,..i flower Thus the buds perform a
Ssaltbful function which In other flowers
e. performed by older blossoms. The cen-
10 oft 10 nj
wh,cb hears an apple. All the rest take
their chances. The more conspicuous
aoraI cluster the more certainly the bees
will visit 1t, as they have learned that
faded flowers have been already rifed OF
honey When the fruit appears, 1t Is first
the color of the leaves, which thus serve to
protect In order that the seed may ripeD.
Iut when maturity is reached, one kind OF
ample Is painted with gold and another
with oarmine that they may not be taken
and the seed disturbed.
The curious three cornered seed OF the
buckwheat tells another story. The plant
has two kinds of blossoms, differing In the
length of the stamens and pistils. In one
flower the pistil is divided into three parts
at the top and stands above the pollen
pouches which lie at the base OF the pistils.
In the other kind of flower the opposite
arrangement Is seen, with the pistils low
and the stamens long. The bee visiting
the flowers for the honey, which is secreted
in the eight yellow glands at tho base OF
the stamens, has part of its body busted
with pollen from tho short stamens and
another part from the long stamens. At
the same time he brushes the pollen of
each upon the receptive tips Of pistils of
corresponding lengths. BY this arrange
ment close fertilization is checked.
Wheat Is q peculiar seed. The humble
ancestor of the wheat is said to have been
dwarflsh grass. Long periods of time
passed before wheat attained its present
high state of development. 1t Is bisex-
ual, close fertilizing plant. In the various
parts Of grain of wheat in the layers,
scales, tissues cells, coats, teguments and
membranes lie it's richness of gluten, starch
and albuminoids, which are elements of
good flour.
There are few secrets which seed
will not reveal. 1t will not indicate how
large plant will DO or what Is its color.
Sweet peas look just alike, yet some will
yield white, some pink and others purple
flowers. One poppy seed will produce
scarlet enchantress, all silk and flame,
while In the small body Of another is folded
upa curled pink or white beauty. The
poppy has an interesting seed vessel, which
contains an almost innumerable number
of seeds, yet not to be compared in multi
tudo with the seed of some other plants.
An English scientist says that it requires
l,0l3 tobacco seeds to weigh one grain,
and single plant produces 800, 600 seeds.
This Is small number, too, as compared
with an orchid, which produces "a, 600, 900
seeds, each one of which requires about 90
grains Of pollen TO fertilize it.
There are seeds rich in odor, such as the
vanilla pod 1t Is produced on vine be-
longing to the orchid family, which has q
long, 1eshy stem and aerial rootlets.
These attach themselves to trees or other
objects for support. The greenish white
flowers form aXillary spikelets The
Mexican vanilla plant bears abundant
flowers, but it is necessary in order TO
secure good crop to fertilize them artifl-
clally. "A sharp stick is used to convey
lhe pollen from tho anthers to the pistil.
An expert can fortilizo /, 900 flowers In ono
Gay, but as the blossoms do not open
simultaneously the work Is tedious. No
uoubt the women and children who do
most OF tho artificial fertilization would
welcome the advent of some insect pre-
pared to do this work for them.
The chocolate tree has a useful bean in
closed in hard, leathery shell. Instead Of
growing at the apex of the branches, it
grows on the trunk and base of the pri-
mary branches, where it is well protected
from sun and storm.
rigs, very curiously, have their flowers
inside Each pistillate blossom has an
wary wary which ripens into minute nut
lhls Is the seed or true fruit, the fleshy
part being only the stem or receptacle Of
ue ovaries. just as in the case of the
strawberry, the ovaries are placed on the
outside OF the receptacle. Figs rise in the
urn Oh little buds directly from the joints
=, inc tree. The Romans thought that
phacchus, god Of plenty and joy, derived
lis size and strength from eating this
seeuy iruit. The sacred fig of the east is
"V ~, allowed to be vended in the market.
Inc size of a seed seems to have nothing
@uo with the size of tho tree or the plant
VI .he blossom. There are self planting
seeus' like the cranes bill, which use ar.
I I with which to get into the ground.
~ ,ne wild clematis the pistil stalk re-
an Is...I a