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leaves green. The green is actually made by 
a chemical process set up by light on a certain 
property that the leaves contain, called “ chloro¬ 
phyll.” This is easily proved by looking at 
plants grown in the dark. The sprouts that 
grow from a potato “ eye ” in the dark are a 
sickly yellow, and lettuces are tied up so that 
the inner leaves do not get the light and look 
pale and white. The immense variety in the 
shapes of leaves is very interesting to study. 
They are all described in botany by long 
names, but even before the names have been 
learnt it is well worth while to collect and 
notice some of the many forms. Compare, for 
instance, an oak, an ash, and a lime leaf; a 
rose, a violet, or a nasturtium ; a wallflower, 
daisy, or ivy—the leaves arranged in tufts as on 
the pine trees, or having tendrils as sweet-peas, 
and hosts of other forms and shapes which are 
all specially adapted to the uses of the particular 
plant. 
The flower belongs to the other section of 
organs, called reproductive, as all the parts of 
a flower have to do with the production of 
seed or fruit. The essential parts for making 
seeds are what are called stamens and pistils, 
which generally look like more or less thick 
threads coming out of the centre of a flower, 
the stamens having thickened ends with 
