PABT II 

 THE PLANT, AND CROPS 



CHAPTER VII 

 THE OFFICES OF THE PLANT 



1. The Plant and the Crop 



167. In an agricultural sense, the plant, as 

 a representative of the vegetable kingdom, has 

 four general types of uses, or fulfils four offices: 

 it aids in the formation, maintenance and im- 

 provement of soils ; it influences the climate 

 and habitableness of the earth ; it is the ulti- 

 mate source of food of domestic animals ; it, or 

 its products, may be of intrinsic value to man. 



168. When plants are grown in quantity, 

 they, or their products, constitute a crop. This 

 crop may be the produce of a bench of carna- 

 tions, a field of barley, an orchard of peaches, 

 a plantation of tomatoes, or a forest. The 

 crop may be grown for its own or intrinsic 

 value, or for its use in preparing the land for 

 other crops. 



(106) 



