STEMS AS FOOD 



521 



Wright Pierce 

 Can you name stems, other than those given above, that are used for food ? 



cane certainly ought to be named also, since over half of the 

 world's supply of sugar comes from this source. Maple sugar is a 

 much used commodity obtained from the sap drawn from the 

 trunks (enlarged stems) of sugar maples. Over 16,000 tons of this 

 sugar is produced every spring. The pithy stem or trunk of the 

 sago palm, grown by the native of the East Indies, is made into a 

 meal or flour. This flour is shipped to all parts of the world and 

 is used for making starch, puddings, and for thickening soups. 

 Another stem, the potato, growing underground, forms one of 

 man's staple articles of diet in this country. 



Practical Exercise 2. Fill out a second column in your table with ten dif- 

 ferent stems used as food. 



Roots as food. Roots which store food for plants form an impor- 

 tant part of man's vegetable diet. Beets, radishes, carrots, pars- 

 nips, sweet potatoes, and many others might be mentioned. 



