THE PLANT AND WATER. 



large round leaves lie flat on the surface of the water, the 

 stomata or mouths of the leaves *^^> / 



are found to be on the upper 

 side. Why has nature made this 

 change ? 



Animals soon suffer from thirst, 

 although they have some water 

 in nearly every kind of food that 

 they eat. But plants require 

 water quite as much. There is 

 nothing so important in connec- 

 tion with plant growth as having 

 a proper supply of water not 

 too much and not too little. 

 When the rains come at the right 

 time and in the right quantities, 

 nearly every soil bears good Fi s- i3--Undersideof leaf. A shows 



the mouths or stomata with small 



crops : where no rains fall we find ha r n leaf at h - B is L a section, 



showing stoma or mouth at s, the 



a desert. air space is at a, and g is a guard 



cell which opens and closes the 

 mouth or stoma. 



CONCLUSIONS : 



1. Water is found in all plants and in all parts of living 

 plants at all seasons of the year. 



2. Water is necessary for the life and growth of plants. 



3. Water goes into the plants through the hairy rootlets at 

 the tips of the fresh roots and passes out through the thousands 

 of tiny mouths on the under side of the leaves. 



4. The mouths or breathing pores are called stomata. These 

 open wider as the air becomes damp and partially close as the 



air becomes dry. 

 SUGGESTIVE : 



What gives rigidity and firmness to a geranium leaf? 



Which contains proportionately the more water, an apple leaf or nn 

 apple twig? 



