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CHAPTER VII 



THE TREE ITS ROOT-SYSTEM 



WE may now suppose the young oak-plant to be rapidly 

 developing into a tree. Technically the seedling is said 

 to be a plant after the first year, and when it reaches 

 the height of a few feet the young tree is called a sap- 

 ling ; these ideas are by no means well defined, however, 

 and we may regard them as arbitrary terms of little or 

 no scientific value. 



The principal changes which are noticeable as the 

 little tree grows larger are the gradual increase in the 

 length and thickness of the stem, and in the number 

 and spread of the branches put forth year after year. 

 Corresponding with these increments, each spring sees 

 a greater number of leaves than the one before, and it is 

 easy to prove that the roots also become more numerous 

 and complex each season. 



The above simply expresses certain facts of observa- 

 tion, but it is more accurate to link them together as 

 follows. 



In each successive season of growth the young oak 

 develops more leaves than it did before in other words, 



