Structuke and Gkowth. 23 



The nutrition of a plant depending upon its leaves, tlie former 

 may be destroyed by simply destroying its foliage. In general, 

 it does not immediately die, because it has the power of putting 

 forth new leaves, which come into action and supply imper- 

 fectly the places of those removed ; but if it be deprived of 

 these essential organs during the entire season, its power of 

 producing them ceases, and all functions are suspended. 



v.— FLOWEKS AND FEUIT. 



A flower is that part of a plant which is formed for the pur- 

 pose of reproducing its species by means of seeds. Fruit is 

 the seed, or the seed and its pericarp^ or covering. The peri- 

 carp includes whatever goes to make up the seed-vessel, 

 whether it be a mere thin husk, a hard, bone-like shell, or a 

 soft, fleshy pulp. 



Anatomically considered, the parts of a flower are merely 

 modified leaves, the whole forming a very short branch. 

 What causes a plant to convert some of its leaf-buds into 

 flowers, by fashioning the leaves into calyx, corolla, stamens^ 

 and pistils, while other buds become ordinary, branches, it is 

 not essential to our purpose to explain. It is pretty clear, 

 however, that tlieir productioji depends upon the presence in 

 the plant of a sufficient quantity of secreted matter, fit for 

 their maintenance when produced. If it happen, then, that, 

 from any cause, there be not, at the usual time of flowering, 

 any store of nutritive juices beyond what is required for the 

 production of leaves and the growth of the stem, no flower- 

 buds are put forth. This is illustrated in the failure of fruit- 

 trees to bear at all the season next succeeding one in which an 

 excessive crop has been produced.* Sometimes flowers are 

 produced, but, the supply of nutriment proving insufficient, 

 they drop ofl^ without producing fruit. 



Lindley syllogistically says: "A flower being a kind of 

 branch, as has been already shown, and the fruit being an ad- 



* See Appendix, A 



