////•: rifvsiofAyiY or I'L.wrs 2Hj 



now siiinmarisc the processes of nutritifjii. The 

 roots absorb water coiitaiiiiiiL; earth\- salts as well 

 as oxygen ^as. The leaves absorb gaseous food 

 in llic form of carbon-dioxide, and I ma\- add 

 sometniies water xapour. There are two simple 

 experiments that my readers can make which 

 will prove these statements, and will L;"ive them 

 a greater interest in the somewhat dr\' details of 

 vegetable physiology. Our first experiment to 

 show the absorpti\e power of roots is taken from 

 Sir Joseph llcjoker's IVimer on ]Sotan\'. 



"Take up three |)lants of the buttercup carefull)' 

 b\- the roots ; iea\e one ( No. i) on the table ; place 

 another (No. 2) with its roots in water ; hang the 

 third (No. 3) upside down over a tumbler of water 

 with a few of the lea\es in the water, but the root 

 exposed. In due time No. i will have faded ; 

 No. 2 will be quite fresh ; No. 3 will have the 

 parts not in the water faded. No. i shows that 

 water contained in the plant has e\aporated from 

 its surface ; No. 2 that the water has been absorbed 

 by the root and conve}X'd to the leaves ; No. 3 

 that the immersed leaves have not sujjplied the 

 other portions of the plant with water." 



