The moisture content of the seed coat and cotyledon influences the cracking mechanism of the legume seeds. Dry seed during compression is only slightly deformed and damage is mostly connected with cotyledon cracking. The objectives of this study were to determine the elasticity strain limit of soybean (Glicine hispida Max.), and lentil seed (Lens culinaris Medic.), and to verify a model describing cotyledon cracking mechanism. The resistance of seeds to compression was studied at low moisture content only. Every single cotyledon was compressed and forcedeformation curve was obtained at different rates of deformation to determine the effect of load rate on the strain and stress development. For large displacement, a spherical cup of cotyledon was deformed to the circle contact area that regular cracks around core were observed. However, for low rate of axial deformation, compression caused one crack, that after unloading was frequently invisible. The results obtained at compression test shows different values of damage force for each cultivar. It looks apparent that strength is also different. However, the modulus of elasticity is at similar level and there is no significance difference for most cultivars. It shows that the cotyledon for all rate of load at the elasticity deformation achieves the same value.