CHAPTER X 



HIDDEN PLANTS AND HIBERNATING ANIMALS 



HIDDEN PLANTS 



IN the winter many plants rest. Some of these only lose their 

 leaves, others " die down," and under the soil are their roots, runners, 

 bulbs and tubers which, stored with food, are ready to produce a 

 mass of foliage once more in the spring. 



Those who do not mind hard work, may unearth the gigantic and 

 grotesque roots of the white bryony, the only British member of the 

 gourd family, and the climbing shoots of which are among the most 

 elegant that this country produces. 



As a rule, however, less extensive diggings will suffice to lay 

 bare the roots of the wild carrots, the blue-bells and earth-nuts. A 

 good exercise in discrimination will be to determine which of the 

 resting structures are roots and which stems. Buds will be found 

 on the underground part of a Solomon's seal," leaf scars on those of 

 the Iris, and other evidence will be forthcoming in most cases. 



Students who have begun chemistry or botany may care to in- 

 vestigate the various materials stored away in the underground 

 structures, and may add to our knowledge in this respect. They 

 will find it not difficult to learn and apply simple tests which prove 

 the presence of sugars and starch, or to discover that something else, 

 as in the " Jerusalem " artichoke, takes the place of these. 



Much insight may also be gained as to the ways in which, beneath 



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