Plant Life in General 



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Fig. 5. Plants furnish the primary food supply of the world. The photograph 

 shows a rice-harvesting scene in the Philippine Islands. 



be grown in sand ; but because sand does not provide the 

 plant with the necessary mineral substances, the corn will 

 not be of normal growth and will fail to produce good seed. 

 Under the same conditions of Hght and moisture, a rich gar- 

 den soil would produce a normal plant. Or, if during the 

 winter months corn is grown in the richest of soil in a green- 

 house, it attains only a small size and may fail to produce good 

 seeds, because in this case the amount of light is not sufficient. 

 Hence, when we discuss the relations of any particular part 

 of a plant to the energy-supplying and nutritive processes, 

 we must ever keep in mind the interrelation and mutual de- 

 pendence of all parts of the plant. As no part of the 

 human body lives an independent life but is dependent for 



