VI 
WINTER 
that is why manure is given to plants, and this 
is also why different crops are planted year 
after year in one field, and not always the same 
crop. In a natural state various things help to 
enrich the soil—the rain and snow give moisture, 
and the dead leaves which fall in autumn decay 
and help to renew the soil ; but in a garden, 
where plants of many kinds are placed near 
each other in a way in which they would never 
be found growing in a wild state, and where 
all the dead leaves are carefully swept up, these 
wants of the plant for fresh food must be 
supplied by the gardener. 
The next part to notice is the stem. The 
use of the stem is to carry the nourishment 
absorbed by the roots to the different sections 
of the plant, and to serve as a support for the 
leaves and flowers. There is a great variety 
in stems—some are stiff and erect, others 
creeping or trailing, as the “ runners ” of a 
strawberry plant, some go on steadily increas¬ 
ing in size every year, others die down at 
the end of the year, as is the case with 
many garden flowers, such as larkspurs or 
phloxes, but all the varied forms have the same 
work to perform. If you notice a great forest 
tree that has been cut down, you will see a 
series of circles, beginning with a tiny one in 
the centre ; and following one inside the other 
