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"A root," replied Ella.
"Yes; and what else?"
"Two leaves," said Tom.
"And a stem!" was Bennie's discovery.
"Yes; and now you notice this from which the covering has not yet fallen. You see the same parts, and if you could look at one of these dry seeds through a microscope you would see coiled around inside, the same three parts; now when the seed is planted, we cannot tell how, but in some way, the moisture of the earth and the warmth cause the little plantlet which we call the embryo, to swell and grow. It soon bursts the walls of its house, and the two seed-leaves which we call cotyledons, expand. The little stem which we call the radicle, pushes up and supports them, while from the opposite end the root begins to grow. I think if you will look carefully under that beech-tree, you will find some beech-nuts which have just sprouted. I used to gather them when I was a little girl; the crisp seed-leaves are very palatable."
For a little while the children were busy looking for "beech-nut sprouts," while Mrs. Browne sat under her green canopy enjoying the clear air and the fresh wood odors.
Then the lesson was gone over again.
"What are these called?" touching the tiny seed-leaves.
"Cotyledons!" answered Ella promptly, the others coming in more slowly upon the same word.
"And this?" pointing to the slender stem bearing the cotyledons at the top.
"The radicle."
"And what do we call the whole as it lies coiled up in the nut before it is planted?"
"The embryo!"
"That will do for this morning," said Mrs. Browne.
"COTYLEDONS, radicle, embryo! Cotyledons, radicle, embryo!" Bennie was saying these words over to himself, then he added, "The cotyledons are the seed-leaves, the ones that pop out of the seed after it has lain a while in the ground. The radicle is the little thing like a stem that supports the cotyledons, and from the other end of it the root begins to grow. I know so much, anyway! Then the embryo? Oh! that's the whole thing curled up in the seed."
"I wonder which mamma will tell us about this morning," said Ella as she and Tom skipped across the meadow, leaving Mrs. Browne to follow more leisurely with Bennie.
"The root, of course," said Tom; "the root is—well, it is the root of the whole thing. The foundation, you know."
"I hate foundations; that is what Miss Lyman is always saying, 'Young ladies, lay the foundation well!' I thought we would get away from all that in vacation," and she laughed merrily.
"Well, there can't be a great deal to be said about roots, I am sure," returned Tom; "that'll comfort you, I suppose."
When they were all ready Mrs. Browne said:
"I think we will talk about roots to-day." Tom and Ella exchanged glances at this, but Mrs. Browne continued, "the root has two uses; it serves to fix and hold the plant firmly in the ground, and also it is the part of the plant that takes up food from the soil. The plant needs to be fed with certain minerals and gases, and these are dissolved in the moisture of the soil, and the water is sucked up by the roots."
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"I do not understand," said Ella, "how the root can suck up water! Are there holes in the root which stand for mouths?"
"The roots are covered with what we call fibrils or root hairs, and these are very delicate, and through their surfaces they take in the moisture. Now if you will examine this root of a young tree which Tom has pulled up for our lesson you will see that the root has branched, and every year the branches multiply and spread farther and deeper into the ground. Now notice that the branches grow smaller and smaller. Look through this microscope and you will see the tiny hair-like projections; these take up the moisture, and as there are so many of them upon every little rootlet, they take up a great deal. We call this a branching root; some roots are what we call fibrous. Tom, suppose you see if you can find a buttercup root and bring it here."
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Tom sprang to do his mother's bidding, and soon returned with what looked like a hank of thread—long fibres bound together at the surface of the ground, at the top of what we call the axis of the plant. Mrs. Brown explained that the central stem is called the axis, and that the part which goes downward is the descending axis, and the part that shoots upward and bears the branches, is the ascending axis.
"You observe," she said, "that in the case of this plant there is no descending axis, the long fibrous roots spring from the collum or collar, which is the place where the root and stem join, or from the line of division between the ascending and descending axis. The fibrous roots are mainly for the purpose of absorbing nourishment for the immediate use of the plant, and this structure gives them greater surface by which to take up the moisture for rapid growth. Other roots serve an additional purpose. They store up food for the future growth of the plant, and such roots are called fleshy roots, and many of them are useful to us for food. In such the axis is long and thick and with only short branches and of course fewer fibrils."
"Now if we leave one of these fleshy roots—for instance the beet—in the ground through the winter instead of storing it in the cellar for table use, when spring comes the plant will begin to put forth a new growth, much more vigorous than that of the first year, and quite different. It will send up strong shoots bearing flowers and ripening seed. And all this will use up the food stored in the root, and when the seed has ripened the plant will die. This we call a biennial plant."
"The fibrous roots belong largely to annual plants, while the branching roots belong principally to the woody plants, as trees and shrubs. I heard Tom talking about transplanting trees. You should take great care not to injure the small roots and fibrils, for, by breaking or cutting off these, you lessen the absorbing power of the root."
"You spoke of annuals and another kind—those which live two years," began Ella.
"Biennials; be sure you get the names; it is just as well to learn a thing thoroughly in the beginning—a few facts, names or dates thoroughly fastened upon the memory are better than a vague idea of a whole subject, without any definite knowledge. We classify plants as annuals, biennials and perennials; those which live one year, those which die after perfecting the seed the second year, and those which live on year after year."
"Aren't we almost through with roots?" asked Ella.
"I could tell you a great deal about roots, but I suppose you want to get to leaves and flowers, so we will drop the subject of roots and take up the stem next time," said Mrs. Browne, smiling upon her impatient little girl.
"WHO wants to study in vacation?"
The speaker was Mr. Browne's nephew; he sat upon a stump in the woods not far from the pretty booth where Mrs. Browne awaited the coming of her class. He kicked his heels against the half-decayed bark which, giving way under the repeated kicks and falling to the ground, was picked up by the youngest of the trio of Brownes and stored away for the gypsy fire which he proposed to build after a while.
"And botany too! I don't care a flip about that stuff; I wanted to go fishing; it's lots more fun."
"But we can't fish all the time; and mother makes botany real interesting. The other day we had to talk about roots, because that comes first, and we thought it would be terribly stupid; but it wasn't! We liked it first-rate, and we know quite a number of things now about roots, so come on, Charlie."
"Bother!" Charlie very slowly descended from his perch, and followed the others with a scowl on his rather handsome face. Mrs. Browne welcomed him with a smile, not appearing to notice his surly mood.
"We will talk a little about leaves to-day," she said. "There are two principal sorts of leaves; now I want you to look at these which I have brought and see if you can find out the difference between them." She handed the children some leaves of the lily of the valley and the tulip, with others from a maple tree near by.
"The shape is different," said one.
"Yes; but that is not what I mean; try again."
"They are not the same color?"
"Try again."
"The maple leaf is divided off by three little ridges spreading apart from the stem," said Ella.
"And how about the others?" asked Mrs. Browne.
"There's only one running through the middle."
"And there's a lot of little cross-marks, or threads, or whatever you call them, in the maple; and in the lily of the valley, and in the tulip they run all one way."
"Ah! now you are coming at it. The two great divisions of leaves of which I just spoke are characterized by these threads, or, as we call them, veins. The maple belongs to the netted-veined leaves, and the others to the parallel-veined. You remember that at our first talk we learned about seed-leaves? Can any of you tell what we called the seed-leaves?"
"Cotyledons," said all three in a breath.
"Right. Well, the parallel-veined leaves belong to the sort of plants which have only one seed-leaf or cotyledon, and we call them monocotyledonous plants; and the netted-veined leaves belong to and distinguish those with two cotyledons, and are called dicotyledonous plants. Now notice that a leaf has three parts: a blade, the broad thin part, a petiole, or, as you would call it, the stem-stalk, which supports it; and, as you see in these quince leaves, there is also a pair of small leaf-like appendages which are called stipules. All leaves do not have these, and some have no petioles. In such cases we say the leaf is sessile, and sessile means sitting; and we shall find the word used in regard to other parts of the plant as we go on in our study. This quince, and also the apple leaf, have one large vein running through the middle as if the petiole were extended to the tip or apex of the leaf. This sends off branches, and these in turn break into smaller ones until the leaf is all over network. It is tilled in with a green pulp and covered with a thin skin called the epidermis."
"Why, we had that word in physiology," exclaimed one of the listeners. "It means the same as cuticle or outside skin."
"Exactly; so you see we have in the blade the fibrous framework or skeleton, the pulpy filling, and the transparent covering."
Charlie had been listlessly fingering a leaf, seemingly not interested in the talk, but at this moment he started up, exclaiming, "I know how to make skeleton leaves! You just put the leaf into some kind of acid—I have forgotten the name, that eats out the pulp and leaves the framework—sister Anna has a whole lot of them."
"Yes; and if we had one here we could see the method of veining very plainly. In the parallel-veined leaves all the larger ribs run lengthwise, and there are no branching veins which you can see plainly, only very small vein-lets. Now just a glance at the leaves of a plant or tree will tell you to which of two great divisions the plant or tree belongs."
"I did not suppose there could be so much to say about leaves," said Ella, turning her leaf over and looking curiously at it.
Mrs. Browne smiled. "We have only just begun to examine them. We might find things enough about them to fill a great many morning hours. We might talk about the shapes. We have: ovate and lanceolate, oblong and orbicular and a great many more you might find it hard to remember. Then the margins. Some are entire, that is, even, not notched, and others—but look for yourselves and find out the differences."
"This willow is notched, and so is the elm leaf," said Charley, growing interested.
"But are they alike?"
"No; the elm has what I should call double notches."
"Exactly; one is serrate or saw-toothed, the other double serrate."
"And here is a leaf that is scalloped."
"You will find many forms if you take notice, and each has a name."
"I shall be looking at leaves after this," said one.
"You must try to find out all you can about them. Notice the arrangement upon the stem. Some are opposite, like the maple, others like the rose are alternate; now here is a pansy—excuse me for picking to pieces this pretty bouquet which you gave me, but it is in the interest of Science. The pansy or violet has alternate leaves with stipules, while the sweet pea has a compound leaf; but I know you are anxious to get to flowers, and we will take them up next time, only we ought to talk a little about the uses of leaves. You may find as many uses as you can before we come here for another talk."
"Didn't you like it?" asked one of the Brownes as they stopped on the way home to enjoy the top rail of the fence.
"It wasn't so bad as I thought it would be," replied Charlie. "I never should have suspected that there was so much talk to be made over a leaf."
"Nor I," echoed all the others.
MRS. BROWNE and Ella were sitting upon the porch which ran along the front of their country home. They were waiting for the boys to come to the botany study. Mrs. Browne had decided to have her class at home, thinking that the heavy rain of the evening before must have made it very damp in the woods.
Tom had gone to the office, and Ben—well, Ben was somewhere. That is what they always said of Ben, "Oh! He is somewhere."
"Mamma," said Ella in a whisper, "do look! There is the old man coming up the walk."
Mrs. Browne arose, and stepping forward waited. Evidently the man coming towards her was blind. He was led by a large dog, and was talking either to himself or to the dog.
"Yes, I'm sure of it; I should know the odor anywhere; it is wild roses; Ned, my dog, we must find them."
He had nearly reached the steps, and Mrs. Browne said,—
"Sir, can I do anything for you?"
"Pardon," said the stranger; "I did not know any one was here. Perhaps I am intruding? The perfume of wild roses carried me back to my early home, and it seemed as if I must be standing under my mother's window, and Ned and I thought we would find the roses."
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"Ella," said Mrs. Browne, "get the scissors and cut some roses for the gentleman."
When the flowers were brought the stranger handled them tenderly.
"You wonder I should care, when I cannot see," he said; "but every leaf and petal is pictured in memory. I know the shade of green of the calyx; the delicate tint of the petals, the beauty of the half-open buds as well as if I could see. Thank you, madam, thank you!"
"Will you sit down and rest?" said Mrs. Browne kindly.
"No, thank you; I want to reach my journey's end at the next town this morning. My faithful Ned and I will jog on. Good-morning!"
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"Mamma," said Ella, "can we study about the flowers themselves this morning? That blind man talked about things that I did not understand at all. I'm tired of leaves and roots and things."
"I do not know as we will study at all this morning," replied Mrs. Browne. "The boys are slow about getting here."
"There comes Ben, and I hear Tom whistling around the corner," and in a moment more the boys appeared and settled themselves for the talk.
Tom had brought a bunch of pinks, and Ben had some poppies which a neighbor had given him, while Ella held a spray of the wild roses.
"And so you want to talk about the flowers themselves?" said Mrs. Browne. "Well, if you will look, each of you, at the flowers you have you will find them made up of several parts. Tom, what do you find?"
Tom busied himself for a moment pulling apart a pink blossom, then replied, "I find this outside green part, and then there are the leaves of the flower and little slender thread-like things in the centre."
"The leaves of the flower, as you call them, are called the corolla; and the green envelope, which in your flower is shaped like a cup, is the calyx, while the slender parts in the centre are the stamens. And the one exactly in the middle is the pistil. Sometimes there are more pistils than one. Each division of the calyx is called a sepal, and each division of the corolla is a petal. Now you have quite a number of new names to-day to remember. What is the outside envelope?"
"Calyx," said Ella promptly, the boys chiming in a little behind time.
"And the separate parts of the calyx?"
"Sepals," said all together.
"Now the colored part of the flower?"
"The whole is the corolla, and the parts or divisions are petals."
"Correct."
"But, mamma!" exclaimed Bennie, "my flower has no green part on the outside. Do not all flowers have a calyx?"
"Some do not; but in the case of the poppy, the calyx falls off as the corolla expands. Notice the bud which you have, the calyx is just ready to fall off."
"I see," said Bennie, and the rest examined the bud which he passed around.
"Now notice that in the pink the sepals are united in one piece, forming a cup, while the petals are separate. Some flowers have united petals. Those we call monopetalous, and those like the pink we call polypetalous. The sepals, calyx and corolla taken together, are sometimes called the perianth. I do not remember if I told you that the root, stem and leaves are the organs of vegetation while the flower, fruit and seed are the organs of reproduction. Now the calyx and corolla are only the protecting parts, while the essential organs are the stamens and pistils. If you can remember all this, with all the new names, you will do well for to-day, and next time we will talk about the stamens and pistils. Just one thing more, you notice that as you pull out one of the petals of the pink there is a long, narrow part running down into the deep cup. We call that the claw of the petal. Now see if you can find all these organs in other flowers, and give them their names."
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And leaving the children to busy themselves Mrs. Browne resumed her sewing, though she sat near and now and then joined in the talk which followed.