STEMS i 2 5 



Annual plants, or those which live but one year. 

 store food in their stems and leaves during the earlv 

 part of their growth. During the fruiting or seed 

 forming season this food material is transferred to 

 the seeds and there stored, and the stems become 

 woody. This is a fact to bear in mind in connec- 

 tion with the harvesting of hay or other fodder 

 crops. If we let the grass stand until the seeds 

 form in the head, the stem and leaves send their 

 nourishment to the seeds and become woody and of 

 less value than if cut before the seeds are fully 

 formed. 



In plants of more than one year's growth the 

 stored food is used to give the plant a start the fol- 

 lowing season, or for seed production. 



The rapid growth of leaf and twig on trees and 

 shrubs in spring is made from the food stored in 

 the stem the season before. 



Sago is a form of starch stored in the stem of 

 the sago palm for the future use of the plant. 



Maple sugar is made from the food material 

 stored in the trunk of the maple tree for the rapid 

 growth of twig and leaf in the spring. 



Cane sugar is the food stored in the sugar cane 

 to produce new plants the next season. 



If we examine the stem of a tree that has been 

 cut down we find that it is woody, that the wood 

 is arranged in rings or layers and that the outer 

 part of the stem is covered with bark. We will 

 notice also that the wood near the centre of the 

 tree is darker than the outer part. This inner part 



