The Story -Book of the Fields 



These are called vessels. If we examine 

 attentively the transverse section of a dry 

 branch of a vine, we shall see a number of 

 openings into which it might be possible to 

 introduce a horsehair. These are the open- 

 ings of so many interrupted vessels. Every- 

 thing in the plant, absolutely everything — 

 the root, the stem, wood, bark, leaves, 

 flowers, fruit, seeds — everything is formed 

 by a collection of cells, fibres and vessels. 



Having said this, we will examine the root 

 of the plant. In its younger portions, at 

 the extremity of its most delicate branches, it 

 is composed of new cells, which are tender 

 and well adapted for absorbing the dampness 

 of the ground. These extremities are called 

 spongioses, and fill up just as sponges would. 

 When this is accomplished, we find channels 

 prepared to carry the fluid to the top of the 

 plant ; and these are the vessels which maj- 

 be compared to the pipes that carry the water 

 of our fountains. But wliile in the fountain 

 the water flows by reason of its own weight, 

 passing from the higher to the lower portion, 

 this is not the case with the fluid absorbed 

 by the roots, which travels from the bottom 

 to the top. What, then, is the force that 

 causes it to rise ? 



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