Decline of Growth and the Rest Period.. 109 
development of the embryo into the plantlet, the penetration 
of the root into the dark and damp soil cavities, the absorp- 
tion and conduction of water with its food materials in solu- 
tion, to co-operate with the sunlight and carbonic acid, in the 
mysterious laboratory of the leaf, in building up the plant 
body into node and internode, bud, branch, flower, fruit and 
seed; through growth decline, leaf fall and winter sleep, to 
the renewed vigor of another springtime. 
In our study of the round of plant life, we have assumed 
the environment to be favorable. But in the practical cul- 
ture of plants, we are constantly meeting with adverse 
conditions of environment. ‘Talent for plant culture lies in 
the ability to discern these adverse conditions by the 
appearance of the plant, and in knowing how to correct 
them. We will, therefore, next consider the plant as affected 
by unfavorable conditions of environment. 
The following books are recommended for reading in con- 
nection with the preceding chapter: “How Plants Grow,” 
Gray; ‘“‘ Lessons in Botany,’ Gray; “ Botanical Text-Book,” 
Gray; ‘The Soil,” King. 
