314 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER. 



July 



however, suppose the results will be the same 

 in all cases. Soils and seasons vary and in- 

 troduce a necessity for various modes of prac- 

 tice. Of course what has resulted favoi-ably 

 under some circumstances, may fail under oth- 

 ers ; therefore we can only say, that it has paid 

 in very many instances by more than fifty-fold, 

 and will on certain soils probably continue to 

 pay, while on other soils and under different 

 circumstances it will probably fail. Therefore 

 no positive rule can be adopted for its general 

 use. The farmer, who ought to know his own 

 soil, must be the judge in the matter of its 

 probable benefit. W. Bacon. 



Richmond, Mass., May 1, 1867. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 HO"W PLANTS GROW, 



When plants have arrived at a certam stage 

 of their growth, sexual development takes 

 place under the influence of a universal law 

 affecting all organized living beings. This 

 takes place in most cases before the growth is 

 completed ; that is, before the plants have 

 reached their full size. In most annuals it 

 commences when the plants are about half 

 grown, as in the grains and grasses, and the 

 growth of the plant in size and vigor goes on 

 at the same time with the process of fructifica- 

 tion. In most fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, 

 the flower buds are developed before the 

 growth of the foliage is completed. The same 

 thing is true in the grape and the strawberry 

 and in many perennial plants. The process of 

 fecundation requires that the flowers should 

 receive the full force of the sun's rays, and the 

 foliage is not yet large enough to intercept 

 them. 



When this process is completed and the sun's 

 rays become more direct and scorching, the 

 expanding foliage protects the forming fruit as 

 well as elaborates sap for its nourishment. 

 The period of sexual development differs 

 greatly in different plants. In some it occurs 

 in a few weeks after they spring from the soil. 

 In biennials not until the second year. In 

 most trees several years are required. In 

 some plants, as in the century plant, many 

 years are passed before the sexual influence is 

 felt. Most flower buds assume the form of a 

 cup. The ovum or ovary is found imbedded 

 at the bottom of this cup. The cup is formed 

 externally of thick fleshy leaves which enclose 

 and protect the ovum and other delicate and 

 tender organs. Witliin these protecting leaves 

 are the petals, springing from points between 

 the thick outer covering and the ovaries. 

 Within these are the stamens, each bearing a 

 crown of pollen or fecundating dust, called the 

 antlu^r. The Greek word anthos, or flower, is 

 derived from this, the indispensable organ of 

 all flowers, without the presence of which all 

 the others would be of no avail. Then the 

 pistils spring from the ovaries. They are so 

 many tubes communicating with the internal 



parts of the ovaries. When these organs have 

 arrived at a certain stage which may be called 

 the orgasm, or time at which they are ready 

 for impregnation, the mouths of tliese tubes con- 

 tain a glutinous fluid by which the pollen fall- 

 ing from the anthers is collected and conveyed 

 to the ovaries. When this has been accom- 

 plished, the stamens and pistils wither and fall. 

 The petals also fall away. The ovary begins 

 to enlarge, and the stem upon which it is sup- 

 ported begins to lengthen. In some cases this 

 stem becomes quite long, as in the strawberry 

 and cherry. The ovary now begins to assume 

 the shape which the completed fruit is to have. 

 We then say the fruit has set. Just at this 

 point of time, a large part of the forming fruit 

 usuall}' withers and falls, either because the 

 pollen has not reached the interior of the ova- 

 ry, or from the injurious effects of the wind or 

 weather. But in favorable seasons fecundation 

 is effectually accomplished in a sufficient num- 

 ber of instances to secure the great purpose of 

 nature, the formation of seeds for the continu- 

 ation of the species. This is the ultimate ob- 

 ject of efflorescence and fructification. The 

 seeds are formed and arranged within and 

 around the ovaries in various modes and fash- 

 ions. Sometimes, as in the apple and pear, the 

 seeds are enclosed in cells in the interior, and 

 the body of the ovary is changed into a large 

 fleshy pulp. In others, the seeds stand out 

 naked upon the surface, as in the strawberry. 

 In others the coverings that enclose the germ 

 are converted into strong fibrous husks which 

 are packed, layer within layer, over the seeds 

 for their protection, as in the maize. Some- 

 times they are enclosed in sacs or capsules 

 called pods, which consist usually of a thin, 

 soft internal layer, and a stout, thick external 

 one ; sometimes the seeds, as in corn, are ar- 

 ranged in long rows packed closely together, 

 and sometimes in circles upon the upper sur- 

 face of the ovary, as in the hollyhock and mal- 

 lows. Sometimes the seeds are each covered 

 with a thick, firm scale, as in the pine, which, 

 like a roof, protects it. The seed of the pine 

 requires two years for its growth and ripening, 

 and therefore needs a protection that rain and 

 frost will not destroy. To some seeds, a fine 

 membrane, like the wing of a fly, is attached. 

 The seeds of the elm afford an instance of 

 this. These seeds, when ripe, are shaken off 

 by strong winds, which, by means of their 

 membranous wings, transport them to a dis- 

 tance from the parent tree. In some plants 

 only female organs are developed, while oth- 

 ers of the same species, produce only those of 

 the male. In the greater number of plants, 

 the organs of both sexes are found in the same 

 flower and supported on the same stem. 

 These are called perfect flowers, wliile those 

 that have only the organs of one sex are cafled 

 imperfect. The wind is the principal means of 

 conveying the pollen from the anthers to the 

 opening pistils. At the right season, if the 

 air is dry and clear, the atmosphere is filled 



