THE STEM. 



The younj^ stem of ti gnwrt when v\[t across will bo found 

 to coutuiii iiiimurous threiuU {^Jihnt-vnsiuihtr hundlvx) Hcaittercd 

 from tlio center to tlio (iircunifcrcnco. An c])idcrniis covers tlio 

 whole. In mutiy iustiuK^es, us the stem euhirges, tlie inside is 

 ruptured and a liollow is formed. 



Neither roots nor leaves could lust long without each other. 



The slender branches of tho 

 pani(des of Sjxirobolun hctvrn- 

 lepls, a grass comnuiu on tho 

 prairies of tho west, are cov- 

 ered in i)laces with a gunnny 

 excretion which entraps snmll 

 insects. Dr. liessey in the 

 American Naturalist, p. 4*^0, 

 1884, suggests that they may 

 servo tho same purpose as tho 

 similar sticky belts in Silene 

 or catch-tly, viz. : to entrap 

 crawling insects and prevent 

 them from reaching the flow- 

 ers which they are incapable 

 of fertilizing. 



Tho naked portions of the 

 internodes of Tratj^is race- 

 mosus vur. occidentalis, a wild 

 grass of Arizona, are furnished 

 with a sticky substance. The 

 specimens examined are cov- 

 ered with many particles of 

 sand and dust. 



The main uses of the stem 

 appear to be to convey the sap 

 to or from the leaves, to snp- 



FiG.fl.— Represents a young stem of F(M(«c^ i^nrt tlip lenves and extend 

 as it brancht's at the bH8o.-(Hackel ) P^rt tne leaves .iiiu CALt^iiu. 



