

CHAPTER II, 



DN THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE 

 DIFFERENT PARTS OF PLANTS. 



The first step, necessary to the proper com- 

 prehension of the processes nature employs in 

 the assimilation and growth of plants is a per- 

 fect knowledge of the organs each plant pos- 

 sesses, and the functions these organs perform 

 in the development of the different parts of the 

 vegetable structure. 



Without such knowledge it will be impossi- 

 ble to understand how plants derive their nutri- 

 ment from the air and the soil, and indeed it is 

 and must be the basis of all information on the 

 subject. 



It is proposed, therefore, to give such a gene- 

 ral description of the functions of each organ 

 of plants, as connected with the assimilation of 

 their various component parts, before proceed- 

 ing to the consideration of the matter so assimi- 

 lated. 



It is first necessary to note, that certain con- 

 ditions are as necessary in the vegetable as in 

 the animal kingdom for the development of a 

 perfect plant. 



In the latter case a due supply of fresh air. 



