174 thu SI^ory of I^heI plants. 



made food-stuffs, until its green leaves are in a 

 position to lay by starches and protoplasm in 

 plenty for it. It draws by degrees upon the 

 accumulated materials. Such plants are like 

 capitalists who can start their sons well in life 

 with a good beginning. On the other hand, the 

 poppy has to set out on its career with a very 

 poor equipment ; it must begin picking up car- 

 bonic acid for itself almost from the outset. 

 Such plants are like street arabs, compelled 

 to shift as best they can from their earliest 

 days. A coco-nut starts so well that the young 

 palm can grow to a considerable size without 

 working for itself ; so to a less degree do wal- 

 nuts, hazels, and oak-trees. Among other sets 

 of plants there are two great groups which have 

 especially learned to lay by food for their seed- 

 lings — the peaflower family and the grasses. 

 In both these cases the young plants start in life 

 with exceptional advantages. But what will 

 feed a young plant will also feed an animal. 

 Hence men live largely in different countries 

 off such richly-stored seeds — among nuts, the 

 coco-nut, the chestnut, and the walnut ; among 

 peaflower seeds, the pea, the bean, the vetch, 

 the lentil; among grasses, wheat, rice, barley, 

 Indian corn, rye, millet. 



Eecollect, however, that in all these cases the 

 plant does not desire the seed to be eaten. It 

 ii'tored the tissues richly for its own sake and its 

 offspring's alone, and we come and rob it. So, 

 too, with the edible roots or tubers, such as 

 potatoes, yam.s, turnips, beet-root, and so forth ; 

 the plant meant to use them for its own future 



