But do they turn into real seeds directly the pollen gets down? By no means. Nourishment and time are necessary to growth and change. I must explain further about the seed. Beneath the _integument_ or covering of ordinary seeds, as a pea, what do you observe, Willie? I have seen the two halves of the seed show themselves, when the skin breaks, and the plant seems to grow from between them. Your two halves are the _lobes_ or _cotyledons_ of the seed. These fleshy substances enclose the _embryo_, from which the leaves and roots proceed. The upper part, from which the leaves arise, is the _Plumula_, or _little plume_, or feather. That from which the rootlet proceeds is the _Radicle_, or root part: sometimes it is called the _Rostellum_, or _little beak_. Of what use are the cotyledons, father? They supply nourishment to the central portion, which is to develop the plumula and rostellum, and thus surround them. A sort of passage of communication exists between them. There is, also, a neck between the plumula and rostellum. What is that scar upon the seed? The point at which it was attached in its vessel. Well, now I think I really do understand all the mysteries of tree growing. Like as a young animal suckles its parent until strong enough to manage other food, so does a young plant depend upon the cotyledon for provision, until its rootlets are able to search the soil, and leaflets absorb from the air. I trust, my boy, that while you admire the order and adaptation, you will acknowledge Him whose wisdom planned the whole, whose power performed it, and whose goodness makes it serve the happiness of His creatures. * * * * * A few days after the last conversation, Willie went with his father into the Bush among the mountains. The way was long, and the track was rough, but various things occurred to make the journey pleasant. The Laughing Jackass gave the boy a merry greeting, a snake peeped at him slyly among the long grass, and then brushed off quickly to its hole. A Porcupine raised up its quills as he passed, and then trotted off to the scrub. But the trees,--the trees! How tall they were! How thick they were! With the help of their handkerchiefs, Willie and his father measured the girth of some, and found them thirty, forty, and even fifty feet round. Most of the Stringybark and Gum trees ran up straight as a dart, fit to thrust into some monster ship for a mast. Then the sweet-scented shrubs on every side, the green Myrtle, the pyramidal and beautiful Sassafras, and many others, seized upon the boy’s imagination, until he came to a place that made him stare, and then caper about like a Black fellow at a corrobory. What could it be?