PLANT DEVELOPMENT 



But in and through all the life of the plant, 

 whether it be the tiniest flower that blossoms 

 but for a day or the vast pine that outlives 

 civilizations, there runs the influence of another 

 power, the highest attribute of its life, its pro- 

 toplasm, its very life itself. Different sub- 

 stances enter into this protoplasm, and it has 

 an exceedingly complex chemical composition, 

 though, roughly speaking, it is about eighty to 

 eighty-five per cent water and fifteen to 

 twenty per cent solids, with small quantities 

 of fat and mineral salts. It is maintained in a 

 cell, — from it comes life itself; when it dies the 

 plant dies. It has the power of combining the 

 food elements and producing all of the organic 

 compounds of the plant. The word is Greek, 

 in its origin meaning the first creation, or the 

 first creature or thing made. In plant or 

 animal it is the basis, the source of and con- 

 tinuity of all life. 



It may be analyzed and described ; but there 

 man's sight ends, there his hand is stayed. 

 What gives it its life lies beyond his vision in 

 the realm of the infinite. In his own life he 

 can understand his physical powers and forces 

 in large measure, he can care for his body as 



81 



