UPON WHAT DOES A PLANT LIVlSf 421 



redundant vigor), and the gardener liked it. He 

 sowed the seed, and from the plant bearing the 

 most doubled flowers again sowed the seed. It was 

 only a question of perseverance, a uniform ideal, 

 and time. 



535a. The teacher who desires to enquire further into these sub- 

 jects may consult "Plant-Breeding" and "Survival of the Unlike." 



LXXXIII. UPON WHAT DOES A PLANT LIVE? 



536. The plantlet at first lives upon the nutri- 

 ment stored in the seed, or in the tuber or bulb. 

 But it soon must shift for itself. Plant it in a 

 small pot which has been filled with firmly com- 

 pacted earth. In a short time the pot will be 

 filled with roots, and the plant is pot -bound. Se- 

 cure a large pot-bound plant from a greenhouse. 

 Turn it upside down and knock ofE the pot, as a 

 gardener does. How could such a root -growth 

 take place in a space already full ? Shake out 

 the earth from the roots, and add it to that 

 which remains in the pot. Is there as much 

 earth as there was before the plant was set in 

 it? "Will the earth now fill the pot as full as 

 it was when the plant was set? 



537. Secure a large topped, pot-bound plant. 

 When the earth is fairly dry, remove the pot 



