CONCERNING THE ROOT 



LESSON XXVII. 



CONCERNING THE AXIS OF THE PLANT. 



216. THE term axis ex- 

 presses the central column 

 or body of the plant around 

 which the branches and 

 other organs are arranged. 

 As we have already no- 

 ticed, the axis grows and 

 extends in two directions, 

 upwards and downwards. 

 The ascending part is the 

 stem, the descending part 

 is the root. The former 

 loves and seeks the air and 

 light, the latter the dark, 

 damp bosom of the earth. 



217. The ROOT serves the 

 twofold purpose of fixing 

 the plant firmly in its place, 

 and of imbibing the neces- 

 sary food from the soil. 

 The food when thus im- 

 bibed is never in a solid 



Fig. 831. An entire plant (Shep- 

 herd's-purse), showing the axis (a 

 to r). The part from c to r is the 

 descending axis, or root ; from c to a 

 the ascending axis, or stem; b, b, 

 bran3he9, beciring racemes of flowers 

 and fruit. 



