time you take a walk, you will see that of the situation, and really hoped the pcr- 

 the more tender shoots and the buds are tinacious little wretch might proudly 

 decked in rich reds and browns. That scatter her well-matured seed upon the 

 this is not for mere ornament may be hard-beaten path as an inspiration to the 

 practically demonstrated by wrapping the many boys that passed daily, grumbling 

 bulbs of two similar thermometers, the because of the hardness of their lot. But 

 one with a green leaf, the other with a the only moral I can now draw is the fool- 

 brown or red leaf, say of begonia or beet, ishness of delaying in the right start. 

 Then put the two in the sunlight and you Sometimes the supply of light-energy 

 will soon find a difference of from six to is so great that the little chlorophyll ma- 

 ten degrees in favor of the warming-up chines cannot use it in their legitimate 

 color. Speaking of buds, have you ex- work, nor does the plant use it in prepar- 

 amined the horse chestnut bud ? It is ing the warming-up color. Then the disc- 

 prepared for the winter in the most sub- shaped corpuscles turn their edges in-- 

 stantial manner. The future leaf is first stead of their flat surfaces to the light, or 

 wrapped in a quantity of finest silky wool, sometimes move deeper down into the 

 then a number of tough light green cases leaf. In some cases the leaf itself turns 

 are put on, and this is followed by com- edgewise instead of broadside to the sun. 

 pact brown scales neatly overlapping,' There are many plants so constituted 

 with a complete coating of wax, so that that they cannot live from year to year in 

 the interior is effectively protected from our northern climate, and they must 

 the cold and moisture. The use of the make some provision for preserving their 

 warming-up colors is quite common with species, and right cunningly do they do 

 plants. this. At a certain period of its growth the 



In the far north the same plant that re- potato, for example, puts its starch-mak- 



quires the whole long growing season to ing machinery to work on full time, and 



mature its seed, will crowd the whole pro- hurries the starch down below the surface 



cess into a few weeks. It will suspend of the ground, and stores it up in what 



growth and all other processes, or run we call a tuber. These tubers have stored 



them on short time and devote itself al- in them a number of embryo potato 



most entirely to producing seed, and the plants, whose lack-luster eyes we see 



seed itself will have much thicker shell. peeping out on all sides. When the time 



1 was interested last autumn in the pa- for growth comes, the young plant starts 

 thetic struggle of a humble little Cheno- with a reserve-food supply sufficient to 

 podium album that had started life late keep it growing for some time. We have 

 and under unfavorable circumstances. It all noticed, no doubt, how large a plant 

 came up in September under the north will grow from a potato, even in a corn- 

 piazza near the beaten foot path ; close up paratively dark cellar. We must not 

 to the building. I was first attracted by think that tuber-bearing vines and nut- 

 the fact that, though it was not over a producing trees are actuated entirely by 

 foot high, it had bloomed and was mak- philanthropic motives. Each nut is the 

 ing seed at a desperate rate, while its young tree sent forth with his patrimony 

 sisters earlier in the season reached sev- strapped to his* back, ready to make a 

 eral feet in height before blooming. But, good start in the world as soon as the fa- 

 alas ! for the vanity of the poor little crea- vorable time comes, 

 ture, the cold weather during the Christ- There are many devices for spending 

 mas holidays came on, and the steam be- the winter that limits of time and space 

 ing shut off, the side of the building grew will prevent me writing about. Many of 

 cold and my struggling little friend was them more curious than the simple ex- 

 frozen, and soon its lifeless remains were amples I have cited, 

 the sport and derision of the rude Jan- Plants are themselves generally unable 

 uary winds. I pitied the poor little vaga- to move from their fixed positions, so if 

 bond despite the bad record of her fain- they are to become prominent in the 

 ily. Indeed plants, like people, must suf- world they must send out their children 

 fer sometimes because of an evil ancestry, and many and ingenious are their devices 

 In this case I was touched by the pathos for accomplishing this end. Most of my 



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