183i.] LAWS OF GBOWTH. 28y 



in due time, secondary roots ; and at the top of the ascending 

 portion we shall see delicate leaves forming. Those latter cor- 

 respond with the leaves that first appear above ground when 

 Beans are planted in gardens. We differ from the farmer who soia 

 his Beans. The subsequent history of a Bean is well known. 



Xow what takes place when an acorn germinates is analogous to 

 wliat has been described. This difference, however, may be noticed 

 namely, that while the food of the embryo Bean plant is stored up in 

 its cotyledons, a slightly different arrangement is made for the nour- 

 ishing of the young Oak. The latter derives its food from the endo- 

 sperm of the seed, and in this way its cotyledons are not required to 

 remain under ground to nourish the young plant, and so rise to the 

 surface and become the first pair of leaves on the stem. Cotyledons 

 that rise to the surface are called epigeous, those that remain under 

 hypogeous. These two words are of Greek origin, and mean, respec- 

 tively, above-ground and under-ground. The cotyledons of most of 

 our trees are epigeous, and their appearance on the surface after 

 germination is an evidence not only that the nutriment in the seed 

 is mostly used up, but also that the plant has reached that stage at 

 which it can derive food from the soil through its roots, and from 

 the air through its leaves. 



We have now got our seedling above ground, and to trace its sub- 

 sequent development we must ascertain the position in relation to 

 other trees in which Nature has placed it. Let us suppose that it has 

 been placed in a solitary position, i.e., the position conducive to our 

 second type of tree. In such a position our seedling will soon rise 

 and spread to considerable dimensions. Its first characteristic form, 

 or outline, will roughly resemble two cones joined at their thick ends, 

 provided the nurseryman or other culturist has not stepped in to 

 interfere with its development by transplantation. The form is 

 remarkable for listless growth in the lower branches. There is a Scotch 

 proverb which says, ' The nearer the kirk the further from gra^e,' and 

 we seem to have its analogy here in the weakly growth of these lower 

 branches. Those branches will be dealt with by-and-by. 



The second form our tree assumes is, roughly, that of a truncated 

 pyramid, or of the letter A with the top lopped off" above the cross 

 stroke. The lowest branches have now disappeared, or are so unim- 

 portant that they do not seriously mar the outline of the figure 

 described. Otherwise the tree has got bulged in appearance, and the 

 rate of the upward growth has been much retarded, owing to the 

 enormous attraction to side growth, which exposure to horizontal 

 light all round has caused. 



The third characteristic form resembles in outline a bell-jar 

 borne on a short stalk ; the stalk represents the stem divested of its 



