LEAVES 205 



cattle, but they in turn feed upon various kinds of 

 plants or parts of plants. 



Food storage. We frequently think of potatoes, car- 

 rots, onions, radishes, sweet potatoes, beets, fruits, 

 seeds, etc., as food for ourselves. No doubt it has 

 never occurred to most of us that these parts are of 

 real use to the plants on which they are formed. As 

 food is manufactured by the plant it is disposed of 

 in either of two ways. It may be used immediately 

 for repair and growth, or it may be stored and some of 

 it may subsequently be used by the plant. 



Food may be stored in almost any part of the plant, 

 but in many plants this storage takes place in parts 

 underground, either roots or underground stems. Such 

 parts are the beet, turnip, carrot, parsnip, radish, onion, 

 potato, and sweet potato. This stored food is often 

 consumed by the plant for growth during the early 

 part of the following season. Seeds and fruits also 

 serve as places for food storage. Small plants depend 

 at first for their growth upon this reserve food in the 

 s^eds from which they were produced. 



Because of the great amount of food present in pota- 

 toes, carrots, etc., and in all kinds of seeds, such as 

 wheat, corn, rye, oats, and in fruits, these parts serve 

 as the most important articles of food for men and 

 other animals. These food storage parts are used 

 directly or else products are manufactured from them, 

 such as oatmeal, cornmeal, flour, corn starch, and 

 tapioca. The economic importance of plants in trades 



