1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 





bears the seed leaves or cotyledons, and is the 

 crown of the root, and base of the stem, called 

 radical plate or life-knot, which is of the greatest 

 importance in the economy of vegetables ; for all 

 the other nieinbers of the plant may be destroyed 

 or separated without loss of life, if the radical 

 plate, lile-lvnot or collet, be f)rescrve(!. If divided 

 in many parts each will become perlect plants. Ii 

 is a hontogeneous substance, and has the property 

 of giving off many individual plants, and is pro- 

 perly speaking an assemblage of vital buds, to be 

 developed in the order of their position. The 

 oldest central bud is the largest, and generally 

 puts forth first, and the others follow in regular 

 succession, which may with propriety be called 

 oH'-scts. The life-knot or radical plate of a turnip 

 is Ibund on the top; that ot' an onion at the bot- 

 tom. Planters and gardeners should be particu- 

 lar, and not place the life-knot or radical plate too 

 far below the surface of the earth; if they do, at- 

 mospheric air is excluded, and the plant either 

 dwindles or dies. In transplanting trees, the iile- 

 knot is often placed too deep; the consequence is, 

 that the tree remains stationary for a length of 

 time, ar>(l if the buds shoot, they are diseased, 

 grow slowly, and the whole tree is imperfectly de- 

 veloped. In transplanting tobacco, cabbage, &c., 

 Ave are apt to plant deep in order to secure mois- 

 ture to the root ; such plants live and are station- 

 ary for six weeks or two months, and the result is 

 a small unhealthy crop. Some roots have buds in 

 abundance, and produce stems ; and we may 

 say in truth, that both roots and stems contain 

 buds. 



The stem or trunk. — The stem or trunk, is that 

 body which is above ground, and serves to sup- 

 port and elevate branches, leaves, fi-uctification, and 

 fruit. The stem assumes many forms and char- 

 acters, as to bulk, structure, position, place and du- 

 ration; varying in size, from the smallest thread, to 

 a trunk of ten ft>et in diameter. The structure of 

 stems are hollow or solid, jointed or simple, single 

 or numerous. In position, they are erect, incli- 

 ning, prostrate, &c.; they rise in the air, or creep 

 on the surface, and are succulent or woody. The 

 form of stems are various, being round, fiat, an- 

 gular, square, &c. Some have but few branches, 

 as the reed, others give off many and divide until 

 we observe almost a countless number from a sin- 

 gle stock. The stem is composed of pith, wooil, 

 and bark; the pith generally occupies the centre 

 of the stem, and constitutes the principal part of 

 the bulk of the seedling, and of every young shoot: 

 it is soft and spongy, and as it increases in size, 

 diminishes in volume, and ultimately becomes lig- 

 neous matter: this is the case with "woody trunks. 

 The layers of wood are supposed to be formed 

 from the pith, and the diameters of trunks arc an- 

 nually enlarged by concentric layers; the pith be- 

 ing in the centre of the ligneous circles. Tltese 

 annual circles of wood are composed of parallel 

 fibres longitudinally arranged, extending from the 

 root or lit(3-knot, to the summit of the Trunk, and 

 throughout every branch of the spreading tree. 

 The concentric layers or circles are distinct fi'om 

 each other, and are connected by inspissated sap, 

 and cellular tissue. Tiie ages of' trees may be as- 

 certained by counting the number of rings from 

 tlie pith to the bark. Afier trees have passed their 

 usual_ age, they begin to decay; tlie oldest and 

 first formed circles, next th.e pith, decay, and so on 



until the tree becomes a hollow shell, and nothing 

 remains but the sap-wood next the bark. 



The bark. — The tender plant, rises from the 

 earth with its exquisitely delicate coat of batk; 

 which remains as an external covering, enlarging 

 as the tree increases in size; some plants, howe- 

 ver, shed their bark periodically. The inner bark 

 is formed into while-wood, or sap-wood annually, 

 and another coat of bark formed from inspissated 

 sap. These new layers of bark and wood are the 

 princi|)al channels for the circulation of sap. The 

 bark or covering of trees corres|)ond3 pretty much 

 with the skin oi' animals, having an external, mid- 

 dle, and inner coat or covering. Branches are sub- 

 divisions of the trunli, and every bud they con- 

 tain is a young tree. 



The leaves.— The leaves of plants, are very 

 important organs; and yet it would seem, they 

 are not absolutely necessar}' to all plants; as the 

 stem and stalk in some ihw instances perform the 

 office of leaves. They are decidedly organized, 

 and so formed, aa to present a large surface to the 

 action of light and air. Next to the flowers, they 

 are the grand ornaments of plants, and from their 

 number and position must perform some very 

 important office in the economy of vegetables. 

 Leaves are supposed to be the organs of respira- 

 tion, or in other words, they are the lungs of ve- 

 getables. They contribute to the growth of plants, 

 having inhalingand exhaling vessels. Vegetables 

 take in atmospheric air, and give out oxygen gas; 

 the reverse takes place with respect to the animal 

 kingdom. In animal respiration, oxygen gas is 

 absorbed, and it would seem by this wise provision 

 of nature, that a just balance is kept up between 

 the two kingdoms. Leaves produce a constant 

 flow of sap upwards, in consequence of their ex- 

 haling and inhaling functions; hence it is that 

 plants die if robbed of leaves; their health and vi- 

 gor depending pretty much on these important ap- 

 pendages. The inhaling leaf vessels not only 

 take in atmospheric air, but they imbibe large 

 quantities of water, and modern naturalists are de- 

 cidedly of the opinion, that the hydraulic action of 

 leaves are their chief oflice. Leaves have a great 

 variety of form, and many appendages which I 

 consider unimportant, except to the botanists, and 

 will pass on the 



Flower and fructification. — The parts of the 

 flower are the calyx, corolla, stamens, disk, nec- 

 tarium, pistillum and receptacle. The calyx is 

 the external covering or investment of" the flower; 

 in which it sits, and serves to deliind the more 

 delicate members of the flower. The coralla is 

 the beautiful brilliant assemblage of variegated 

 and highly colored leaves, or petals, which stand 

 immediately within the calyx. The stamenis the 

 male part of the flower, situated in the corolla, and 

 consists of three members; \he filament, the an- 

 ther on its summit, and the pollen, or dust dis- 

 charged from the anther. 'Vhe pollen is formed 

 in the anther, by a process called secretion: it con- 

 tains the fectjndating influence or principle, with- 

 out the contact of which seeds, already formed in 

 the ovarium, would be abortive. This dust, when 

 seen by a microscope, appears globular, oval, 

 square, &c. The dispersion of the ji)o//c7i is caused 

 by the spontaneous action of the anthers, and fa- 

 cilitated by the visits of int^ects. The stamen is 

 of short duration, and disappears soon alter the 

 pollen is discharged. The disk is at the base of' 



