CHAPTER II 

 THE LIVING PLANT 



PLANTS, like animals, possess the power to grow and to 

 reproduce. Several interesting ways of reproduction are dis- 

 cussed in the chapter on plant propagation. It is also of 

 value to the horticulturist to know something of the structure 

 of plants and their life processes. The more knowledge he 

 possesses of the living plant, the greater is his power to make 

 it serve his purposes. 



25. Parts of plants. A very casual observation will show 

 that the roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits are the main 

 parts of our common plants. The plant parts are made up 

 of tissues consisting of cells. The cell is the unit of plant 

 structure. 



26. The cell. Robert Hooke in 1667, while examining 

 the bark of the cork-oak with a microscope, noticed very 

 small structures which looked like the cells of honeycomb. 

 He called these plant-cells. Although most plant-cells are 

 not shaped like those in honeycomb, the name given by 

 Hooke is still applied to them, no matter what their shapes 

 may be. 



27. Number of cells necessary to plant life. In some 

 cases, single cells can live independently. Such a cell performs 

 all the functions necessary to life, including reproduction. 

 The so-called " higher" plants, which include most of the 

 cultivated kinds, are made up of a number of cells, and are, 

 therefore, said to be multicellular. The number of cells in a 

 plant may be very large, amounting to thousands or even 



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