250 



EXPERIMENTS WITH PLANTS 



is found in the Wandering Jew, Grasses and some 

 other plants. Examine some growing Grass or Grain: 

 notice how tender and succulent the joints are; also 

 how much sugar they contain, as shown by the taste. 

 Cut off a stem half an inch above a joint. Three or 

 four inches below the joint make another cut and place 

 the piece in a moist atmosphere with the base in water 

 or wet sand. The growth at the joint will soon mani- 

 fest itself by contrast with the sheathing base of the 

 leaf which surrounds it and which grows very little 



or not at all. 



In order to get a 

 clear idea of what 

 goes on in the forma- 

 tive region, let us 



study a 

 such as 

 Cabbage 

 Sprouts 



large bud, 

 a head of 

 or Brussels 

 (Fig. 144). 



144. Bud of Brussels Sprouts cut lengthwise: (f) 

 fibrous bundles, (bl) the crumpled leaf-blade. 



The end of the stem 

 is seen to be conical; 

 at its extreme tip are 

 small outgrowths (eas- 

 ily seen with a hand- 

 lens) ; these are the 

 youngest leaves. 

 Next to these are 

 slightly older ones, 



