ri4 (ilJMI'SES INTO PLAXT-LIFE 



either to be used in forming new tissue, or else 

 to be stored up for future use. 



The net-work of veins act as a service of tiny- 

 pipes, to conve)' the hquids up and down the 

 petiole (leaf-stalk). 



General 1)^ the water given off from the stomata 

 is in the form of vapour ; but in some plants 

 drops of water exude from the apex or point of the 

 leaf through the water pores. In Saxifraga crits- 

 tata, there are pores round the edges of the 

 leaves, through which water, highl}' charged with 

 lime and other salts, passes out, and as it evapo- 

 rates a white deposit of lime remains which is quite 

 visible in the form of a frosted edging to the 

 leaves. 



There is an American plant called the jewel- 

 weed, which .shows to perfection this power of dis- 

 tilling drops of water. I will quote a short des- 

 cription of its appearance at night-fall. 



"Upon the approach of twilight, each leaf droops 

 as if wilted, and from the notches along the edge, 

 the crystal beads begin to grow until its border is 

 hung full with its gems. It is Aladdin's lantern 

 that you see among a bed of these succulent pale 



