44 The Tree and How it Lives 



Without light and heat trees could not live. 

 For the leaves serve as the stomach of the tree, 

 and they must have warmth and sunshine to 

 help them digest the tree's food. After the food 

 is digested in the leaves, it goes back to the tree 

 itself, ready to be used. If the tree does not need 

 this food in its new growth this year, it is stored 

 up for next year's use all the way down the tree 

 to its roots. Then, in the spring, it helps to form 

 new shoots, new leaves, and tiny roots. 



Look at a leaf. On it are many little raised 

 lines which reach out to all parts of the leaf and 

 back to the stem and twig. These are "veins," 

 full of the tree's blood. It is white and looks very 

 much like water; but the leaf is green, being 

 colored with "chlorophyll." This green not only 

 tints the leaves but helps them to digest their 

 food. 



A large portion of the tree's wood seems to be 

 dead, and remains so from year to year. It has 

 stopped growing. But the younger parts of the 

 roots, the root hairs, and the buds and leaves 

 above are all alive. They are the living parts of 

 the tree. 



