56 



GLIMPSES INTO PLANT-LIFE 



the laurel had thrown down its roots below the 

 surface, where the}' i^rew luxurianth', finely sub- 

 divided, of a delicate ixor)' white, owint;" to the 

 absence of lit^ht, and more than a )'ard in length. 

 They had adapted themselves to the dut}- of 

 absorbing water onl}', but had we replanted them 

 in earth the)' would have withered, from their 

 unfitness to take up the hygroscopic water of 



CKEEPIXG GRASS. 



which I have already spoken. On the other hand, 

 if the seeds of a plant formed to live in the water, 

 such, for instance, as the water-lily, are sown in 

 ordinary soil, they adapt themselves to the new 

 conditions, and are able to live on the hygroscopic 

 water they find around the particles of earth. 



Some plants send out a horizontal stem (culm) 

 along the ground, with a bud and some roots 



