“First let us look at the seeds as they are when we get them from the shop,” he said, laying a handful of hard, wrinkled beans upon the table.
“They are as hard as stones, and very much smaller than those we soaked,” said Frank.
“Yes, that is one thing we have learned about them already. Seeds take in water and swell greatly.” As he spoke, Uncle George gave Frank, Tom, and Dolly each a small knife and a needle mounted in a handle. He then laid a small magnifying glass on the table.
“Take a soaked bean and look at it well,” he said. “First we will look at the outside of it, then we will see what it has inside.”
“My bean is covered all over with a smooth skin,” said Dolly.
“And there is a long black mark on one side of it,” Tom added.
“Come on, Frank,” said his uncle, “haven’t you got something to say.”
“It is sort of kidney-shaped,” said Frank.
“Squeeze it,” said Uncle George, “and tell me what you see.”
“Oh, there is water oozing out of a little hole at the end of the black mark,” said Frank.
“That shows us that the seed is not quite covered by its skin,” said their uncle. “That little hole is there to allow a tiny root to grow out.
“Now let us remove the skin, or skins rather, for there are two of them. Begin as far away from the black mark as you can. You see that the outer skin is tough like leather, while the inner one is soft and silky. Now, if you pull the skins off gently, you will find something like a stout little root pointing towards the little hole you have already noticed. If you look at the edge of the seed you will notice a thin line or crack. Putting the knife into this crack, we find that the seed consists chiefly of two large, flat, white parts or lobes, with a very small object in between them. Let us remove one of these white masses, and have a look at this small object with the glass.”
[Illustration: Seed of Runner Bean. (1) outside; (2) inside; (3) baby plant, enlarged. _a_, shoot; _b_, root; _c_, seed coat or skin; _d_, junction of seed-leaves.]
Each of the children had a look through the glass in turn.
“Why,” said Tom, “it is very like what we found inside the horse-chestnut bud. I can see two tiny leaves.”
“Remove the little object on the point of your needle and look at it again,” said Uncle George. “It has got something that your little horse-chestnut shoot did not have, I think.”