MANUAI, OF NATURS STUDY. 53 



also, that the leaves act as stomach and lungs to 

 the plant. What takes place in our lungs? In 

 our stomachs ? In the lungs and stomach of the 

 plant? 



As there must be a boarding house to feed the 

 men who do the work in basket factory, or iron 

 foundry, so must there be a boarding house to feed 

 the helpers in the seed factory. Now the leaves 

 constitute that boarding house. The sap is brought 

 up by the stem, air and moisture through the mouths 

 of the leaves, and all these elements are worked 

 over by the sun into the choicest food. But these 

 workers cannot leave their respective places to come 

 to the boarding house for their meals, so the food 

 must be sent to them in some way. Did you ever 

 carry dinner to factory men ? Well, that is what 

 veins are for, to carry food, and this they do quite 

 cheerfully. Food is in that way sent to the roots, 

 for they have to eat iii order to grow and do their 

 work ; to the stem, for it, too, has to work in car- 

 rying water to the factory and sap to the leaves, 

 hence it must eat ; to the seed factory itself, be- 

 cause it also must eat to develop seeds, and the 

 leaves eat what is left after supplying all the others. 

 Refreshments are sent in form of sugar to the seed 

 factory and the seed factory works it over into starch 

 and deposits it in the food part of the seed. Then, 



