14 



THE FOOD OF TREES IS IMBIBED 



PT. 11. 



"With one 

 exreptiorf, 

 trees im- 

 bibe from 

 all parts 

 exposed to 

 moisture, 

 and tran- 

 spire from 

 all parts 

 exposed to 

 drou«:bt. 



The food 

 of trees im- 

 bibed by 

 the surface 

 of roots. 



Food of 

 agastric 

 animals 

 imbibed by 

 the surface. 



Seeds im- 

 bibe by 

 the surface. 



of bark inside the last year's bark. These opinions, in 

 this order, will be discussed in the following pages. 



With the exception stated below, trees imbibe from 

 every part of them wdiich is exposed to moistm^e, and 

 give off (transpire) from every part of them which is 

 exposed to drought. The root is the part which is 

 constantly exposed to moisture, and which furnishes 

 the constant supply of sap to the tree. That part of 

 the root which is universally believed to imbibe no 

 moisture, the woody part, is the only part which does 

 imbibe moisture ; and that part of the root which is 

 universally believed to be the only part which does 

 imbibe moisture, the unripe ends or fibres, is the only 

 part which does not imbibe moisture. 



In fact, the mode in which food is first received 

 into plants is the same as that in which it is received by 

 what are called the agastric animals, or animals without 

 stomachs, as some Medusas ; that is, by absorption from 

 the surface. 



Let us first take the positive assertion that roots 

 imbibe from any parts exposed to moisture ; and after- 

 w^ards consider the negative, that they do not imbibe 

 by the immature ends of the roots. 



Let us begin with the seed. The existence, and 

 also the growth, of all seeds depend on the principle 

 of absorption from the surface ; that is, all seeds both 

 breathe and drink by absorption from the surface. If 

 seeds are to exist, they must be supplied with atmo- 

 spheric air. If they are to grow, they must be supplied 



