1896.] Vegetative Phase of the Sporophyte. 351 



There is a strong tendency in nature to an economy in the 

 distribution of the food supply between foliar, and sporophyl- 

 lary, organs; between the vegetative and fruit products of the 

 plant. This is well seen in the varying sizes of plants having 

 varying amounts of food supply, where with limited food sup- 

 ply small plants have few and small leaves accompanied by a 

 limited out-put of fruit (other conditions are considered nor- 

 mal); while with increasing amounts of food, other things 

 being equal, each of these plant products is increased, though 

 not in the same ratio. With high feeding the vegetative 

 increase shows a higher ratio than the fruiting. The food 

 may be so abnormally abundant as to cause an abnormally 

 abundant vegetative growth, accompanied in some cases with 

 rudimentary fruit, or in others with the entire suppression of 

 the fruit. In some rare cases it may be accompanied by the 

 transformation of the sporophyllary organs to vegetative ones. 



These facts teach that the fruit product, or sporophyllary 

 development of plants is very sensitive to food supply, requir- 

 ing a certain amount of food for perfection in even small 

 quantities, increasing with additional food supply up to a given 

 point, when it decreases again to zero; or in rare cases the 

 sporophyllary organ may be transformed to a vegetative one, 

 so antagonistic has the ratio between the vegetative and sporo- 

 phyllary organs become because of the abnormally favorable 

 conditions for vegetative growth. In addition to the sensitive- 

 ness which the fruit organs exhibit to varying amounts of food 

 derived from the soil, they are very sensitive to disturbances 

 in the supply of carbohydrates as a result of carbon assimila- 

 tion in the vegetative organs, especially of a kind which partly 

 or completely cuts off that supply. This is well seen in the 

 diminished crops as a result of injury to the leaves at critical 

 periods from insects or fungi, or as result of unfavorable 

 meteorological conditions. 



When the nutritive supply of the carbohydrates is suddenly 

 disturbed by certain kinds and amounts of injury to the foliage 

 leaves, or by pruning severely, thus cutting off a large number 

 of forming or developed leaves, certain parts of the plant, 

 either simple or in a rudimentary condition of development, 



