362 



mSSOIfS WITS PLANTS 



Suggestions. — The pupils should have the opportunity to ex- 

 amine rootstoeks of various kinds. Good examples are may-apple 

 or mandrake, lily-of-the-valley, 'canna, peppermint, yellow day-lily 

 or hemerooallis, some of the blue-flags or irises, bloodroot, water- 

 lily, and many sedges; also ginger-root, which may be bought in 

 drug stores. 



LXX. TUBEROUS PARTS 



454. What is a potato? One is shown in Fig. 

 380. It has "eyes," or buds, and over each bud 

 is a minute scale which answers to a leaf. The 

 potato tuber does not give rise to roots. It is a 

 stem, 



455. What are potatoes for? They are store- 

 houses of food. They carry the plant over the 



"dry or inactive season 



X 



^t 



\ 





**4i 



Fig. 380. 

 Potato. 



and refined its contents. 



(in their native home), 

 and also multiply it by 

 sending forth shoots 

 from every bud. This 

 stored food happens to 

 be nutritious to man, 

 and by cultivation and 

 long-continued selection 

 he has greatly increased 

 the size of the tuber 

 But to the plant, the 



tuber, like a bulb or corm, serves the two pur- 



