VII. 



TWO OPPOSING FACTORS OF INCREASE.* 



The energies of the plant are used for two 

 general purposes : the development and main- 

 tenance of the vegetative parts, and the for- 

 mation of special reproductive bodies. In 

 some respects the efforts of the plant in these 

 two directions are antagonistic. Thevegeta- Two sides 

 tive part consists of root, stem, foliage, etc., *° V^^^^^ 

 and at first, and sometimes for a long period 

 in the life of the individual, the energies of the 

 plant are wholly absorbed in increasing the 

 size and promoting the functional activities of 



*Condensed from two articles : one in collaboration with 

 Miss Katherine E. Golden, entitled "Weight of the Seed in Re- 

 lation to Production," published in Agricultural Science, May. 

 1891; and another entitled "A New Factor in the Improve- 

 ment of Crops ," read before the Society for the Promotion of 

 Agricultural Science, August, 1893 and published in its Pro- 

 ceedings and in Agricultural Science, September, 1893. 



