Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/833

SEE. 755 SEED. amined about 200,000 lixed stars between 15' and 1)5° south dc'cliuiilioii, leading to the discovery of about (JOO new double stars and renieasuremont of about 1400. lie lias also made observations on the motions of satellites and diameters of the planets, measured parallax, and computed orbits of double xtars. JSeo is a fellow of the Koyal Astronomical Society and member of several learned scientific societies. He wrote Die Eni- ■wickelung dcr Doppelstcrn-Systeme (18!)3), and Reseiirchcs on the Ei'olulion of the Ulcllar te'i/s- iems (18!)0) ; he has also published double-star catalofiues and contributed to various scientific journals. SEEBACH, zalnic, JIarie (1834-97). A Ger- man actress. She was born at Riga, the daugh- ter of an actor, and studied at Cologne for the opera. Having come to Hamburg in ISS'i, she made a great success as Gretelien in Goethe"s FuKst. and in other rules, till in 1854 she went to Vienna. In 1850-05 she was engaged at the Court Theatre in Hanover and in 1800 removed to Berlin with her husband, .-Vlbert Niemann, whom she had married in 1850, but from whom she separated in 1808. HcnceffU-th she confined herself to starring tours luitil 1887, when she accepted an engagement at the Royal Theatre in Berlin. Her principal rfdcs besides Gretchen were Klilrchen in Epnioiit, Louise in Kahnlr uiid Lirhc. .lulia, Ophelia. Desilcmoiia, and Jane Kyre, and later Maria Stuart, the nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and Lady Macbeth. In 1871 she visited the I'nited States. In 1803 she endowed a home for needy actors, which was established at Wei- mar as Jlarie-Seebach-Stiftung in 1895. SEEBOHM, se'bOm, Frederic (1S33— ). A British economic historian, born at Bradford. He was educated for the law, becoming a barris- ter. Middle Temple, in 1850. His English Villdfie Comiiiunilii, published in 1883, at once placed him in the foremost rank of economic historians. Before the publication of that work the prevail- ing view was that primitive Anglo-Saxon society consisted of eomnunial groups of free men Indd- jng land in common (the mark), and that by the continual aggression of native and foreign lead- ers the village communit.v had degenerated into the manor, in which the tenants, originally free, became serfs. Seebohm attempted to show that there is no satisfactory ground for believing that the free comnnniity ever existed in England. The ■similaritv of the Roman villa and the manor is cmidiasized, the implication being that the me- dia'val manor is to be explained as an amalga- mation of the Roman villa with the Germanic tribal system. Seebohm published two works dealing with early tribal relations. Tribal Cuf!- tom in Anglo-Saxon Law (1902) and The Tribal System in Wales (1895). His other works are: Oxford Reformers. John, Colet. Erasmus, and Thomas More (1867: 3d revised ed. 1887); On International Reform (1871) ; Era of the Prot- estant Revolution (1874). SEED (AS. siFd. OHG. sat, Ger. Saat. seed, Goth. m(inaseis, mankind, from AS. saiean. Goth. sainn, OHG. st'ijan. sfiiren. saen, Ger. siien. to sow: connected with Lat. serere. OChurch Slav. set). Lith. seti. Lett. set. to sow). A reproductive structure characteristic of the highest group of plants (seed-plants). All flowering plants pro- duce seeds, but not all that produce seeds have flowers. A seed is an ovule (q.v.) transformed by the changes following fertilization. The integuments of the ovule give rise to the hanl, iiii|icivious covering (testa), which often furnisher char- acters by which species ami genera nniy be recog- nized, in many eases it also gives rise to appen- dages, su<h as wings (trunipet eree|>er). and silky hair (milkweeds), which evidently aid in wind distribution, in others long threads (spir- icles) are discharged from short hairs when tile- seeds are wetted. While the testa usually devel- ops as a hard, dry coat, it is soinetinu's berry- like (peony), or even like a stony fruit (mag- nolia). There nnty also be appenihigeH or out- growths, as in the fumitory family, which have been called strophioles (at the base of the seed) and caruncles (at the apex). .Sometimes an extra more or less incomplete seed-covering (aril) is developed, which is sometimes a mem- branous sac loosely inclosing the seed and open at the top (water lilies) ; but it is usually llesliy (yew, may-apple, bitter-sweet, etc.). One of the most peculiar arils is the so-called nnice of the mitmeg. V'ithin the testa of a typical seed is a region (the nuccllns) often still more extensively modi- fied. In its centre a large cavity (end)ryo-sac) occurs within which the end>r.vo is found, im- bedded in nutritive tissue (cndospernO- The ti.ssue of the nucellus between the enibryosac and the testa is called the peris])erm, and supple- ments the nutritive supply of the endosperm. Examples of modification: The endnyosac may enlarge and occupy the whole luiccllar region, the peris])erm being absent and the end>ryo-sac al)Ut- ting against the testa. Again, the embryo may absorb the endosperm and store its own body with nutritive material. In the mature bean seed both these phenomena occur, the testa con- taining only a large embryo gorged with food. In an ordinary dicotyled()n<nis end)ryo the seed contains three regions: (1) the hypocotyl, or small stem-like structure, which should not be confused with the later stem of the plant; (2) two cotyledons, or the seed-leaves, usually verv dillerent in form from the later leaves: and (3) between the cotyledons, the plumule, a bud often very minute, which develops into stem and leaves. See E-MiiKYo. Seeds contain various carbohydrate and pro- teid reserve foods, perhaps the most conspicuous among which in most seeds are starch ( in ce- reals), oils (in castor bean), reserve cellulose (in the date). Proteid foods are also abundant; in some cereals they form a layer outside of the starch. ilany seeds, such as nuts, have no striking methods of dispersal, yet nut-bearing trees (e.g. oaks) are about as widely distributed as other trees. IIany seeds, the so-called sling fruifs, are scattered by mechanical expulsion, as touch-me- not (Impatiens). The eonunonest mechanical device for seed dispersal depends upon the desic- cation and consequent rupture of the seeil pod or capsule: in the Leguminos:r the pods twist and scatter the seeds. Many s Is are scattered by animals, either as so-called burrs, which he- come attached to animals, or as fleshy fruits which are eaten. Many seeds are distributed by wind. Some (elm. maple) have winged seeds; others have cottony or feathery appendages (ilandelion, milkweed). Various tumble weeds (q.v.) may also be included in this group. In