Plant

“ Part Two—Vegetables CHAPTER VIII. STARTING THE PLANTS This beautifully prepared garden spot—or rather the plant food in it— is to be transformed into good things for your table, through the ever wonderful agency of plant growth. The thread of life inhering in the tiniest seed, in the smallest plant, is the magic wand that may transmute the soil's dull metal into the gold of flower and fruit. ”

“ The Plant, in its botanical sense, includes every being which has vegetable life, from the loftiest tree which adorns our landscapes, to the humblest moss which grows on its stem, to the mould or fungus which attacks our provisions, or the green scum that floats on our ponds. ”

“ Flowers are the most exquisitely delicate in their texture of all forms in the vegetable kingdom. Look at the petals of this one. Could anything be softer or finer? The leaf, the bark, and the wood of the plant are all coarse, in comparison to the flower. Now, as nothing is made in vain, there must be some reason for this. The leaves and bark, as well as wood, of plants, all have vessels through which sap flows, and this sap nourishes, sustains, and builds up the plant, as our blood does our bodies. But the whole effort of the plant is to reproduce itself ”

“ A plant is like a big handkerchief full of threads that run from the root hairs to the leaves. The sun draws the water, in vapor, from the leaves, and more water is pulled up just as long as the roots can find any in the earth. ”

“ When one takes up a plant his attention is naturally first drawn to its general appearance and structure, whether it is a complicated one like one of the flowering plants, or some humbler member of the vegetable kingdom,—a moss, seaweed, toadstool,—or even some still simpler plant like a mould, or the apparently structureless green scum that floats on a stagnant pond. ”

“ They are a change and relief, in their soothing monotony and simple plant life, from the lush and variegated flower fields, the dense and hostile chaparral thickets, the dark forests of great trees, and the miles of artificial plantations of orchards and vines. ”

“ Though I do not believe that a plant will spring up where no seed has been, I have great faith in a seed—a, to me, equally mysterious origin for it. Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonders. ”

“ The growth of plant-life, which runs concurrently with the changing seasons of the year, impresses this fact upon us, and the history of animal development but repeats the tale. From seed to seed-leaf, from seed-leaf to stem and leaves, from simple leaves to flower, and from flower to fruit, there is exhibited a natural progress in plant-existence, which testifies eloquently enough, by analogy at least, to the existence of like tendencies in all other forms of life. ”

“ The fact of outstanding importance to everyone who really looks at most plants is that part of them are above ground and part below. This simple observation carries with it the recognition of a fundamental difference of plant structure, namely roots and stem. Most plants bear obvious leaves, and at some time in their life flowers, inevitably followed by fruits and seeds. The ideally perfect plant would consist, then, of root, stem, leaves, flowers, fruit, and seed. ”

“ A sensitive plant in a garden grew,
And the young winds fed it with silver dew,
And it opened its fan-like leaves to the light,
And closed them beneath the kisses of night. ”

“ The first plant that burst from the soil had thus every element provided which its nature and habits required—the light, to which it turns and ever yearns after—the air, in which to perform its respiratory functions—the water, from which to secrete the juices of circulation—and a dry land, out of which to elaborate materials for its structure. ”

“ There are such things to consider as the type of plant and its moisture needs, size of the plant and its pot, what sort of soil is in the pot, is the plant root-bound or not, is it in active growth or dormant, what is the weather like out of doors—is it warm or blustery, clear and sunny, dark and humid, or just another day. ”

“ For, to continue the simile I have borrowed from the vegetable kingdom, is it not almost the same thing, whether we live successively to witness the germination, blooming, foliage, fecundity, fading, withering and corruption of a plant, or whether a vast number of specimens, selected from every stage through which the plant passes in the course of its existence, be brought at once to our view? ”

“ The name plant belongs in a general way to all vegetation, from the tiniest spear of grass or creeping flower one sees on the rocks by the brook-side, to the largest and tallest of forest trees.
Plants are divided into numerous groups of families, and the study of the many species belonging to each family, is very interesting.
There are thousands of kinds of grasses, shrubs, and trees, scattered over the different parts of the earth, and the larger portion of them are in some way useful to mankind. ”

“ We find all through the plant-world that the structure of a plant depends very much on the kind of conditions under which it is living, and in the case of those growing in the water, it is [161] quite clear how the soft, air-filled stems are one result of their mode of life, and are well adapted to it. ”

“ All this the thoughtful little gardener will avoid; and when he puts a plant into the ground, he will reflect that if it be not well planted it will not grow. The young plants of the more delicate flowers should be moved with the greatest care into spots congenial with their natures. Some plants require a warm, some a cool situation, some a moist, some a dry one, and these will be ascertained by studying the nature of the plant. ”

“ He has determined how each plant shall grow: how, within limits of cultivation, its stems and branches shall separate, each to seek its own share of air and sunshine; how its leaves shall stand erect or droop, each according to its function; and always in perfect beauty. And further: how each family of plants shall have its own method of branching ”

“ After all the most careful gardener can do, he knows that the form of the plant is predetermined in the germ or seed, and that the inward tendency must concur with a multitude of influences, the most powerful and subtile of which is removed in place ninety-five millions of miles away. ”

“ But, after the ground is freed from its icy envelope, everything starts into life, and grows with the most astonishing rapidity. A plant will spring up, grow two or three feet high perhaps, bud, blossom, and bear fruit in the time our plants of the temperate zone will be producing a foot or so of stalk and leaves. ”

“ From the architecture of their outer characteristics, which takes up the first chapter, we have gone step by step into the story of what goes on within the plant, and how it reproduces its kind. These actions or behavior of plants have resulted in many things of great practical importance as well as being of absorbing interest in themselves. What some of these results have been, we see reflected in the uses of plants to man, in the history of their development, and, most of all, in the way they are distributed over the earth to-day. ”

“ Who can account for, or comprehend, the structure of a single tree or plant? The roots, the stem, the woody fibres, the bark, the rind, the air-vessels, the sap-vessels, the leaves, the flowers, and the fruits, are so many mysteries. ”

“ By insensible steps the plant builds itself up into a large and various fabric of root, stem, leaves, flowers, and fruit, every one molded, within and without, in accordance with an extremely complex, but at the same time minutely defined, pattern. ”

“ Each part of a plant or animal is usually fitted for some particular work. The root of a green plant, for example, is fitted to take in water by having tiny absorbing organs growing from it, the stems have pipes or tubes to convey liquids up and down and are strong enough to support the leafy part of the plant. ”

“ When we look at the earth that which we first notice is the plant, or vegetable. By plants we mean the trees, grasses, and other things, which grow out of the soil. Plants are Mother Earth’s first children. ”

“ Only the gross anatomy of the plant is considered and the ordinary routine of beginning with the simpler forms and advancing to ones of successively more complex structure is followed, and the principles of reproduction and physiology are presented. The student is given an insight into the adaptive processes of the plant by a study of the special forms which live in the water, dry soil, deserts, and other special conditions. ”

“ Whilst the root, penetrating more deeply in the direction of the earth, spreads itself with uniformity, the plant elevates itself more and more into the light, and attains a more delicate and perfect organization ”

“ However, we do not need to go so far to find very many different kinds of roots, and if you examine carefully those of the plants growing in our woods and lanes, you will find what a number of extra pieces of work they can do, in addition to their two chief duties of drawing in water from the soil, and holding the plant in its position in the earth. ”

“ Elementary.—The study of the typical flowering plant; the form and function of the plant organs and the variations which adapt them to special conditions; the inflorescence; the pollination and fertilisation of flowers, fruits and seeds; germination; the nutrition, respiration and growth of plants; the movements exhibited by plants; the outlines of the cellular structure of plants ”

“ The root holds the plant firmly in the ground and takes in water and mineral matter from the soil; the stem holds the leaves up to the light and acts as a pathway for fluids between the root and leaves; the leaves, under certain conditions, manufacture food for the plant and breathe; the flowers form the fruits; the fruits hold the seeds, which in turn hold young plants which are capable of reproducing adult plants of the same kind. ”

“ The fact that the largest tree and the smallest herb are alike made up of a greater or less number of these plant-members, as they are termed, leads naturally to the thought that any mass of plant-tissue having a root, a stem, and a leaf, may be a plant individual, and that, when a number of these members are intimately associated together, a community of plant individuals is formed. ”

“ The STEMS of plants may be looked on from two points of view—as a framework devoted to the display of the leaves and flowers, and as pipe-lines connected with the nutrition of the plant, conveying raw{110} materials from the roots to the leaves, and manufactured products from the leaves to all growing parts. ”

“ But the plant, which is of a higher order, sends its rootlets into the earth, spreads its leaves in the atmosphere, and through these organs absorbs the solutions of the soil, inspires the gases of the air, and from such lifeless materials weaves the tissue of its wondrous structure. ”

“ And it is perhaps also proper to take into account the situation in which each plant naturally grows or does not grow. For this is an important distinction, and specially characteristic of plants, because they are united to the ground and not free from it like animals. ”

“ When the plant is young and tender, it takes in much of its food through the whole surface or skin. It drinks in air, rain, and dew, through its skin. But as the plant gets older, and harder, it feeds more and more by the new roots and young leaves. At last, it takes almost all its food by the root and new leaves. I shall soon tell you what leaves eat. ”

“ For the present purpose we may take our typical plant as consisting of subterranean roots and aerial leaves on the one hand, and aerial flowers on the other—the roots and leaves concerned especially with carrying on the life of the individual, the flowers with perpetuating the race. ”

“ Other plants grow just as the apple tree grows. The roots of a plant get food from the earth and keep the plant in its place in the ground. The stem makes the plant strong and holds it up in the air. And the leaves draw in just what the plants need from the air around them. ”

“ Whatever plant she begins with is taken up in a series of studies,—leaves, flowers, roots, and stalks being shown in every possible position and combination,—until not only the stroke is mastered, but the plant is thoroughly known. ”

“ Form, color, the secretion of sweetish nectar, the night or day blooming of different kinds of flowers, every device that will make fertilization certain, by the flower itself, by insects, or even by the wind, is used in such prodigal fashion, that we come to see the importance of it to all plants only by a realization of the complexity of it and the provisions against its failure. ”

“ This is how the plant forms its seed to bring up new little ones next year, while the leaves and the roots are at work preparing the necessary food. Think sometimes when you walk in the woods, how hard at work the little plants and big trees are, all around you. ”

“ Among plants, as distinguished generally from animals by the production and abundant use of chlorophyll and of cellulose, we have still existing on the Earth a range of forms extending from almost the most primitive organism that we can imagine up to the splendid Seed Plant, specialized in a hundred ways. ”

“ You may take a plant which has single flowers, and by dealing with the soil, and nourishment, and so on, you may by and by convert single flowers into double flowers, and make thorns shoot out into branches. ”