THE PLUM 327 



When we recall that vegetable protoplasm 

 and animal protoplasm are fundamentally of 

 the same constitution, built of the same elements 

 and subject in large part to the same laws of 

 growth and decay, the conclusion seems un- 

 avoidable that plant tissues also must benefit 

 from "rest." 



The application of these various experiments 

 to the case of our seedling plums seems obvious 

 and fairly convincing. The force of the analogy 

 is emphasized by the reflection that the seeds of 

 plums germinate far more rapidly after freezing. 

 It may be recalled also that certain plants to be 

 forced in the greenhouse in an off season will 

 not respond well unless their roots are first 

 frozen for a brief period. Such is the case, for 

 example, with ordinary rhubarb. 



SUCCESS AT THE OUTSET 



But, of course, I would not be understood as 

 implying that the rest gained by these little 

 plum seedlings in the course of their long jour- 

 ney was the primary cause of the extraordinary 

 vitality that they manifested. 



For the full explanation of that, we must of 

 course look to their ancestry, and we shall have 

 occasion to make inquiry as to this in another 

 connection. 



