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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IL THE BOOT. 1. Plants in their perfect form consist of four pr'nci pal parts, ?the Root, Stem, Leaf, and Flower. It is true that the stem and flower are parts, or remnants, or altered states, of the leaves; and that, speaking with close accuracy, we might say, a perfect plant consists of leaf and root. But the division into these four parts is best for practical purposes, and it will be desirable to note a few general facts about each, before endeavouring to describe any one kind of plant. Only, because the character of the stem depends on the nature of the leaf and flower, we must put it last in order of examination; and trace the development of the plant first in root and leaf; then in the flower and its fruit; and lastly in the stem. 2. First, then, the Root. Every plant is divided, as I just said, in the main, into two parts, and these have opposite natures. One par seeks the light; the other hates it. One part feeds 011 the air; the other on the dust. The part that loves the light is called the Leaf. It is an old Saxon word; I cannot get at its origin. The part that hates the light is called the Root. In Greek, /5'a, Ilhiza. In Latin, Eadix, the growing thing, which shortens, in French, into Race, and then they put on the diminutive ' ine, ' and get their two words, Race, and Racine, of which we keep Race for animals, and use for vegetables a word of our own Saxon (and Dutch) dialect, ?' root'; (connected with Rood?an image of wood; whence at last tlie Holy Rood, or Tree). 3. The Root has three great functions: 1st. To hold the plant in its place. 2nd. To nourish it with earth. 3rd. To receive vital power for it from the earth. With this last office is in some degree, ?and especially in certain plants, ?connected, that of reproduction.
| ISBN-13 | 9780217038461 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0217038468 |
| Weight | 0.49 Pounds |
| Dimensions | 9.00 x 6.00 x 0.34 In |
| List Price | $19.99 |
| Format | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Pages | 144 pages |
| Publisher | |
| Published On | 2009-08-01 |
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