214 FLASHLIGHTS ON NATURE 



specialised detachable shoots, which are its liveliest 

 parts, and in which all the most active protoplasm 

 and chlorophyll (or living greenstuff of the plant) 

 are collected and laid by, much as food is laid by 

 in the bulb of a hyacinth or in the tuber of a 

 dahlia. These shoots are, as it were, leafy bulbs, 



NO. 3. THE CURLED POND-WEED PRODUCING ITS WINTER SHOOTS. 



meant to carry the life of the plant across the gulf 

 of winter. 



In No. 4 we come upon the next act in this 

 curious and interesting vegetable drama. Most 

 people regard plants as mere rooted things, with 

 no will of their own, and no power of movement. 



