38 Elements of agriculture 



CHAPTER ViL— Parts of a Plant 



35. Organs of Reproduction.— Many plants, as yoii 

 know, produce flowers^ fruit, and seed; but these parts/ 

 or organs, as they are called^ have nothing to do with 

 feeding the plants which produce them. From the 

 flowers come the fruit and seeds; the seeds produce 

 other plants like the ones producing them; hence, the 

 flower, fruit, and seed are called the organs of repro- 

 duction, because they reproduce other plants. 



36. Organs of Vegetation. — Most plants which grow 

 on the farm have three distinct parts, two of which, the 

 stem and leaves, are above ground and may be readily 

 seen. The third part of the plant — its roots — is buried 

 beneath the surface of the soil, and can only be seen 

 by digging down in the earth or by pulling the plant 

 up. These three parts, or organs, are necessary to the 

 health and growth of a plant. Cut off a plant's roots 

 and it soon withers and dies. Cut off all its leaves and 

 its growth is checked, and often the plant is killed.. Cut 

 away the stem and the leaves soon die; the roots, how- 

 ever, if left in the ground, may put forth a new stem. 

 Each of these three organs has its work to do in feed- 

 ing the growing plant. They are called organs of 



VEGETATION. 



When the young plant bursts its shell and begins to 

 grow, one part, the root, grows down into the earth ; the 

 other, the stem, grows in the opposite direction, towards 

 the light. Fig. 2, page 36, shows how a grain of corn 



