106 
These scars are what give the plant its name of “ Solo- 
mon’s seal.” They are supposed to look like the mark 
left by a seal upon wax. 
They show where the underground stem has budded 
in past years, sending up plants which in turn withered 
away. Each plant has left a scar which shows one 
year in the life of the underground stem. 
Next spring when you find in the woods the little 
yellow bells of the Solomon's seal, I think you will have 
the curiosity to dig down and find out the age of some 
of these plants. 
Another plant with an underground stem is the beau- 
tiful bloodroot. As its name tells you, this so-called 
root contains a juice that looks something like blood. 
Such underground stems as those of the Solomon’s seal 
and bloodroot are called ‘rootstocks.’’ Rootstocks, 
corms, and bulbs are all storehouses of plant food, 
and make possible an early flowering the following 
spring. 
ABOVE-GROUND ROOTS 
ae before we finished talking about roots we were 
led away by underground stems. This does not 
matter much, however, for these underground stems are 
still called roots by many people. 
Just as stems sometimes grow under ground, roots 
sometimes grow above ground. 
Many of you know the English ivy. This is one of 
the few plants which city children know quite as well 
