46 



BOYS AND GIRLS IN BIOLOGY. 



proof that plants do not always make their protein out 

 of the raw material. The plant begins its life by using 

 food prepared for it by its parent. Dr. Hooker sug- 

 gests that plants, like the Venns fly-trap, simply keep 

 up this habit of childhood, and keep on eating ready- 

 made food throughout their whole life. Between the 

 first-opened leaves of the plumule, or little feather, you 

 can see a tiny bud (Fig. 34) or growing point, which 

 rapidly lifts itself up into the air and becomes the stem, 

 giving off buds to form new leaves. The points of the 

 stem where the leaves come out are called nodes (from 

 a Latin word, which means a knot or swelling), and the 

 spaces between the nodes are called internodes, which 

 means between knots (Fig. 35). Each node, or knot, gives 

 off one leaf, and the leaves are said to alternate, be- 

 cause they are placed on opposite sides of the stem, 

 but not opposite each other (Fig. 35). Between the 

 leaf and the stem other buds appear, and these produce 

 new stems or branches. Some of the buds, instead of 

 turning into leaves, open out into flowers. The part 

 of the young plant which lies below the ground is 

 called the root ; it tapers to a point, contains no dye- 

 stuff, or chlorophyl, and, instead of buds, little tiny 

 roots called "rootlets" grow out from its sides (Fig. 35). 

 It is through these rootlets that the plant is fed, but 

 how does the food get in ? The outside is quite hard, 



