368 The Living Plant 



goes into a resting state. Its condition in the buds, the cambium, 

 and the other Uving parts then approximates to that of the seed. 

 This is the season of gray and brown colors, which are distinctive 

 of dried tissues and of the non-conspicuous protective bark and 

 bud scales. 



The Spring is the season of unfolding, when the plant absorbs 

 water, the sap rises, and the protoplasm awakens to a new and 

 exuberant life. Then all of the structures developed in the buds 

 the preceding season enlarge rapidly through their grand period, 

 and unfold to soft-textured foliage and flowers, transforming the 

 whole face of Nature. This too is the principal season of fertiliza- 

 tion, and of germination, and of new life in various forms. It is 

 the season of delicate colors, for not only is it the time of most 

 flowers, and of the softest foliage green, but much of the young 

 vegetation is overspread by a blush of rosy red, which perhaps is 

 the protective and warming screen to the much exposed proto- 

 plasm before the chlorophyll is fully made. 



The Surnmer is the season of accumulation. The green leaves, 

 in the full vigor and strength of maturity, are engaged in the 

 making of food, which passes steadily away to the places of 

 storage or use, providing for current needs and preparing a new 

 store for the future. It is the time of development of embryos, and 

 formation of fruits. It is the season of greenness, the typical 

 time of vegetation, the state that is permanent in the tropics. 



The Autumn is the season of fruition, — the time of ripening 

 which is always a preparation for the future. The tissues are 

 strengthened and hardened ; the parts to come out the next spring 

 are completed in the buds and enwrapped with protective covers; 

 the fruits are brought to perfection and made ready for their func- 

 tion of dissemination; the leaves are emptied of their valuable 

 matters and made ready for their annual fall; the protoplasm 

 throughout the plant gradually yields up its water and assumes its 

 resting condition. It is the season of brilliant colors, red, purple 

 and yellow, a part (those of fruits) serving definite uses, but the 



