"They don't look as the bean leaves do," said Susie. "The beans are so
thick! These have real leaves."

"Yes," said Uncle Robert, "and if you could see them in the seed, you
would see these leaves all curled up in their hard coat."

"This one is just putting its head through the ground," said Susie, "and
it has part of the shell on it yet."

"It looks as the little chickens do sometimes," laughed Donald, "when
they come out of the nest with a piece of the shell sticking to their
backs."

"That hard shell is a great protection to the tender plant as it works
its way up through the soil," said Uncle Robert.

"If these seed leaves are real leaves, uncle," asked Donald, "what feeds
the baby morning glories?"

"There is plenty of food in the seed around the leaves," said Uncle
Robert. "When the seed gets moist in the ground, it becomes so soft that
the plant can use it. Have you ever noticed when you were eating corn
the little hard bud that grows in each grain close to the cob?"

"Yes, uncle," answered Susie. "That is the sweetest part of the corn."

"That is the part," said Uncle Robert, "from which the new plant grows,
and all the rest of the grain is the food stored up for it."

"I wish we had some corn," said Susie, "so we could see it."