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- roots. It was not altogether easy to make clear just 
how the little root hairs keep acids on hand in which 
to melt the solid earth food which their throats are too 
delicate to swallow. And it was quite a long story 
when we came to the dodder, which roots in the stems 
of living plants, and steals all its food from them; 
and to those orchids whose long roots swing from tree 
branches and draw their nourishment from the air. 
About stems, however, even I felt a little discouraged ; 
for though it is from the stem that all other parts of 
a plant grow, yet it is not looked upon generally as 
an interesting object when studied by itself; and I dare 
say you children still feel that stems are less amusing 
than fruits, or seeds, or roots. 
Still we can hardly help admiring the way in which a 
stem, when it lies underground, like that of the lily or 
the Jack-in-the-pulpit, makes its food so carefully all 
through the summer, and waits so patiently through the 
long winter in order to help its plant to burst into flower, 
and to ripen into fruit as soon as possible, and without 
more labor and food hunting when the spring comes. 
When a stem, like that of the morning-glory, sweeps 
slowly and carefully through the air in search of some- 
thing to lay hold of in its efforts to climb upward, and 
when, on finding this support, it makes such good use 
of it, we feel inclined to say, “ Well done, little stem.” 
And when a stem on land knows how to keep off 
meddlers, yet has the wisdom not to take unnecessary 
trouble when afloat, like that of the amphibious knot- 
weed, then we feel that a plant gives its stem, as well 
as its other parts, a large supply of common sense. 
