Ch. VII.] HOOTS. 39 



..41. Bulbous roo/ are fleshy, and of a bulbous or gl-obular 

 form. They enclose a plant, and in this respect resemble seeds. 

 A plant thus protected within a bulb, is able to bear a degree of 

 cold that it could not otherwise sustain. We see, then, the wis- 

 dom of Providence in so ordering things, that cold countries 

 have more bulbous plants than warm ones. 



142. Bulbous roots produce many of the most beautiful plants 

 of our gardens; such as, tulips, lilies, snow-drops, and hya- 

 cinths. Bulbs &eem in many respects to resemble buds, and in 

 some plants, they grow like stems or branches, as, in one kind 

 of lily. In the magical onion, the bulbs or onions grow upon 

 the stalk in clusters of four or five ; they continue to enlarge 

 until their weight brings them to the ground, where if they are 

 suffered to remain, they soon take root. Bulbs are solid, as in 

 the tulip, (Fig. 18, a) scaly, as in the lily, (&) and coated, as 

 in the onion, (c). 



Fig. 18. 



a 



143. Some plants grow without roots, these are called air 

 plants. One of this kind, suspended from the ceiling of a room, 

 will grow and blossom for years. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Different kinds of Steins. 



144. THE stem is the body of the plant. This is hard and 

 woody in some plants, and soft and watery in others. The oak 



141. What are bulbous roots, and why are they. most common in cold 

 countries 1 



142. What is farther remarked of bulbous roots 1 



143. Are there any plants \vithout roots? 



144. What is the stem ? 



