1 84 



FLOWER-LAND. 



But you can easily see some larger cavities, or 

 air chambers. Cut across some part of a large 

 water plant, such as the leaf stalk of a water 

 lily, for instance, and look at it through your 

 magnifying glass ; or cut through the hollow stems of 

 the " kecksie," or a grass or rush, some of which you 

 can find quite easily. You will inquire hereafter how 

 these cavities are formed. 



Now I am going to 

 tell you about some of 

 the substances which are 

 found sometimes in the 

 intercellular, spaces, as 

 well as in vessels or cells. 



First, then, about the 

 little green bodies or 

 corpuscles, which are 

 embedded in the pro- 

 toplasm of certain cells. 

 The green matter which 

 colours them is called 

 chlorophyll, so they are 

 known by the name of 

 chlorophyll corpuscles. * 

 It is the presence of 



Fig. 162. Transverse section of leaf 

 stalk of a Begonia, e, epidermis ; 

 c, cuticle ; cl, a kind of funda- 

 mental tissue, with cell walls 

 thickened ; chl, chlorophyll cor- 

 puscles in the cells ; /, paren- 

 chyma cell (magnified 550 times). 



* Chlorophyll : from the Greek " chloros" green, and " phullon" 

 a leaf; because it makes the leaves green. Corpuscle : from the Latin 

 " corpusculum" a little body. These chlorophyll corpuscles are 

 portions of separated protoplasm, and are very important to the plant. 

 I will tell you more about them presently. 



