THE PHILADELPHIA FLORIST. 169 





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On the Accumulation of the Sap in Plants. &\ 



\j "Raw, crude sap, kept in readiness by the plant to supply the great extra $* 

 evaporation, consequent on the bursting of the buds. 'Kept in readiness'' — this W 

 is something new. Where was it kept? — and what kind of a reservoir had the \ 

 plant to keep it in? We have never found anything of the kind in plants. Does 

 not the sap as collected by the roots ascend immediately to the leaves to be 

 elaborated?— cut off the roots and you will soon see there is no stock 'kept in 

 readiness.' " 



Mr. Editor : — In the July No , you published an essay of mine 

 "On the bleeding of trees from pruning. 1 ' That paper has been 

 copied into a portion of the American press, and received the appro- 

 bation of many acute observers. One journal however, disputes — 

 not the accuracy of the experiments., — but merely the reasons which I 

 presumed to offer in explanation of them. If my theory is not cor- 

 rect, the practice was on which it rests. If he is not satisfied with 

 my deductions, I would thank him to give better ones. The theory 

 is not so very material when the practice is correct. 



In the course of his remarks, he uses the observations I have ex- 

 tracted above. It has occurred to me that a short essay on the ac- 

 cumulation of sap during the plant's season of rest might interest 

 "The Florist." 



Most have observed, that very little moisture exudes at the place 

 of excision of a branch severed just after the fall of the leaf. Later 

 in the season there is more, and early in the spring the shoot be- 

 comes full of sap, and "bleeds" profusely when cut. This fact bears 

 on the inquiry "Does not the sap proceed immediately to the leaves'!" 

 In answering that it does not, let us understand why. After the fall 

 of the leaf, trees are not, by any means, completely at rest. The 

 roots continue to collect sap at all times, unless encased by acciden- 

 tal circumstances — such as frost. The vesicles of the softer part of 

 plants (cellular tissue) are elastic — they are capable of contraction 

 and expansion. 



After the fall of the leaf, the collected sap is stored in these vesi- 

 cles. This is a beautiful provision of nature, — enabling the plant to 

 continue its sap collecting processes — making these cells, as it were, 

 countless reservoirs of enervating fluid, ready for the active demand 

 for carrying on her busy spring operations. The accumulation of 

 sap in these reservoirs during the winter is sometimes very great. 

 Dr. Neuffer states, that at Turbingen in Wirtemberg, or in about lat- 

 itude 48°, nearly all the trees contained eight per cent, more aqueous 

 fluid in March than at the end of January. It is pretty evident there 

 must be some considerable "reservoirs" somewhere in plants \ not- 

 withstanding that my friend "did look, butdid'nt see anything." 



We are told with a "cler.cher" to "cut the roots, and you will soon 

 see there is no stock kept in readiness.' 1 '' I have met with very few / 

 \ men who have not seen trunks of trees felled in winter produce some A, 



'ty good shoots from them the following spring. 1 have seen ^J 



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