8 



AGRICULTURE. 



that forms the stalk always grows up into the air, whether the 

 seed is lying upside down or not. The roots lengthen out and 

 branch into a little bunch of fine fibres, and the stalk soon 

 brings the two leaves above ground. Sometimes we can see 

 the old husk of the seed still clinging to one of the seed leaves, 

 which are generally quite smooth and simple in form. The 

 stalk grows on higher and higher ; new leaves form ; little 

 branches are thrown out ; leaves form on these ; and now we 

 see the general form or make-up of the plant. By this time 

 we observe that the two seed leaves have become thin and soon 

 disappear. They appear to be of use only in the first few days 

 of the sprouting of the seed and the early growth of the young 

 plant. What is their use ? They are different in shape and 

 size from the ordinary leaves of the plant. They are thick at 

 first, and soon become thin and disappear. They are nothing 

 else than little sacks of food stored up in the seed to feed the 

 young plant until it forms roots and leaves and is able to get 

 food for itself from the soil and the air. 



PARTS OF THE PLANT. The roots spread out or go down 

 through the soil ; the stalk grows up and branches out ; the 

 leaves grow along the side and at the ends of the 

 branches. These three parts roots, stalk and 

 branches, and leaves are quite different in form 

 and in color, and we may conclude that they 

 also have different work to do in the life of the 

 plant. 



We can easily study these three parts in larger 

 plants. In the case of a carrot the root is thick 

 and long and pushes itself straight down into the 

 soil. We call such a root a tap root. But along 

 this root we find a large number of fine, hairy-like 

 rootlets, to which the fine particles of soil cling 



Fig. 9. Tap- 

 root, as of a closely. These are the feeders of the big root. 



carrot, show- 



fefdlngro^I * n the CaS6 f a StOC)1 f wheat Or OatS We 



