1884.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
209 
GRAINS IN. STARCH, MAGNIKIED 2.10 DIAMETERS.— Fig. 1. Wheat Starch.-Fig. 2. Ihje. Starch.-Fig. 3. Indian Coni 
Starch.—Fig. 4. Rice Starch.—Fig. 5. Tapioca Starch—Fig. C. West India Arrowroot—Fig. 7. Potato Starch.— S. Pea Starch. 
What is Inside of a Plant. 
The minute cell structure and the manner in 
which the contents of cells pass from one to 
another, have been sufficiently explained, and it 
has also been stated that whatever goes on with¬ 
in the plant must take place within the minute 
cells which make up its whole mass. The rela¬ 
tion of the root to the rest of the plant is well 
enough understood, as every one knows that it 
is mainly through the root that the plant receives 
the materials by which it continues its growth. 
It may be well to mention here some peculiari¬ 
ties of the root which has a manner of growth 
in some particulars unlike that of the stem. .If 
the growth of a stem be observed, it will be seen, 
to be increased by joints—a leaf or leaves, a 
portion of stem, another leaf or leaves, another 
piece of stem, and so on—and that the branch¬ 
es of the stem almost always come from buds 
situated where the leaves join it. Now nothing 
of this kind appears in the. root, there are no 
regular joints, nor is there any fixed place for its 
branches to appear, but they are thrown off in 
the most irregular manner and at any point. 
There are some underground stems upon which 
joints and regular branches may be found, but 
these are not roots, although often mistaken for 
them. Then again, a joint of stem in growing 
increases throughout its whole length, while 
the root mainly elongates by forming new 
cells upon its lower end. This new growth 
takes place just behind the jxtremc point of the 
root and it is not at its very apex that the new¬ 
est tissue is found. Many writers on horticul¬ 
ture, especially the English, constantly speak of 
me spongioles or spongelets as distinct, organs 
upon the ends of the roots, having, for their of¬ 
fice the taking up of li¬ 
quids from the soil. As 
absorption does not take 
place to any extent 
through, the extreme tip 
of the root, but all parts 
are engaged m it, in pro¬ 
portion to their recent 
formation, it is evident 
that the word spongiole 
is one which may well 
be dropped. Very young 
roots have s their absorb¬ 
ing surface much in- 11 *$?•. <J -— R00T ILVIHS - 
creased by means of prolongations of their 
cells to form root hairs, as they are called. These 
are very minute, but may be seen with a 
microscope upon the roots of seedlings; they ap¬ 
pear as in fig. 0. The root takes up water, and 
whatever it may contain in solution, from the 
soil, conveys it to the leaves and then, under the 
influence of sun-light, so much as is needed in 
the growth of the plant is converted into elab¬ 
orated sap, and those portions of the water and 
gaseous matter not required, pass off by the 
leaves. An account of all the changes which 
take place within the plant would not be within 
the scope of these articles, which set out only to 
show some things about plant structure which 
can not be seen by the unassisted * eye. Suffice 
it to say that the leaves, aud other green 
pai ls, are the laboratories in which the crude 
sap is converted into elaborated sap fit for plant 
growth, and that the great chemist, that con¬ 
verts the liquids taken up from the soil into ma¬ 
terial from which beautiful flowers and delicious 
fruits are formed, is the sun. One of the most 
important forms in which this elaborated sap 
finally appears, is the cell wall, of which various 
shapes have been shown in former articles. 
The elaborated sap in the form of mucilage, or 
it may be, sugar, is carried to where growth is 
going on and there contributes to the increase 
of the minute cells of which' the plant is built 
up. In the form of starch the material for 
growth is stored up to be used at a future 
time. We find it packed away in the seed to be 
used in the growth of the new plant, and in the 
potato to furnish food for the shoots which will 
start from it another season. The material of 
which the cell walls are formed, in both cel¬ 
lular and woody tissue, is called cellulose. This 
and starch, sugar, and mucilage are all found 
to be composed of the same chemical elements 
—carbon, oxygen and hydrogen—and in nearly 
the same proportion. The plant possesses the 
power of changing starch, sugar, and mucilage 
one into another, and of converting all of them 
ultimately into cell material. The sweetness of 
unripe corn aud the lack of sugar when it is ripe 
is an illustration of the change of sugar into 
starch, and the sweetness of sprouting potatoes 
an instance in which starch becomes sugar. Su¬ 
gar and mucilage are the soluble and movable 
forms in which we find the material prepared 
for the growth of the plant, starch the form in 
which it is stored up for future use, and the cell 
wall its ultimate product. Starch grains vary 
considerably in size and in form, both of which 
characters are so constant for each particular 
plant, that an experienced person can tell by 
means of the microscope, to what plant a given 
specimen of starch belongs. The grains differ 
in size in the same plant, but the larger grains 
are quite uniform. When seen with a powerful 
microscope, the grains appear marked with lines, 
as if the material was deposited in successive 
layers, and a nucleus or spot around which 
these layers are formed, can usually be seen near 
one end of the grain. Starch is not changed by 
cold water, but it swells up and forms a kind of 
mucilage in hot water. When heated to 300° 
it is converted into dextrine which is soluble in 
cold water, and when heated for some time with 
Weak acid it is converted into sugar. Some of 
the principal varieties of starch are shown in 
the engraving. That of rice gives one of the 
smallest, with grains less than the of an 
inch in diameter, while that of the potato 
shows large grains, of an inch long. 
The starch grains are all shown magnified to 
2n0 diameters and their relative size may be 
seen at a glance. Fig. 1 is wheat with large and 
small grains intermingled. Fig. 2 is rye starch 
with larger grains often marked with a cross¬ 
like crack. Fig. 3, is from Indian corn, with 
the grains' very angular from being mutually 
compressed. Fig. 4 is rice starch. Fig. 5 is 
sago starch composed of curious grains shaped 
like a painter’s muller. Fig. 6 is arrow-root, the 
produce of a tropical plant, and much used as a 
diet for the sick. Fig. 7 is potato starch, re¬ 
markable for its large grains, some of which 
appear like an oyster-sliell. Fig. 8 is the 
curiously shaped starch grains from the pea 
Treatment of House Plants in Summer 
There are no doubt many of the readers o l 
the Agriculturist, who from choice or necessity 
are obliged to keep many plants in pots all the 
year round. Every thing may go on well with 
them until the hot days of July and August, 
when they begin to flag and dwindle away. 
The rapid evaporation at these times creates a 
demand for frequent waterings, and even this 
fails to help in many cases. During the hot 
months it is best to remove the plants from the 
window altogether, and place them in a situa¬ 
tion out of doors where they will have shade 
during the hottest portion of the day. If the 
pots can be plunged into soil up to their rims, 
the necessity for frequent watering will be di¬ 
minished. Where this can not be done, the 
pots may be set in a box, or frame of boards, and 
the spaces between them filled up with moss, 
tan, sawdust, or even sand. This will prevent 
evaporation from the surface of the pots, and 
avoid the frequent alternations of moisture and 
dryness which occur to the roots of plants in 
pots not thus protected. Rapidly growing 
plants, such as geraniums, often become “ pot- 
bound,” which is the gardeners way of sayinj 
that the roots need more room. In this case se¬ 
lect a pot an inch larger than the one already 
occupied by the plant. If the pot is a new one, 
set it in water for a few minutes, until it is thor¬ 
oughly soaked through, take it out aud let it 
drain until the surface is partially dry, then 
having placed in the bottom pieces of broken 
pots sufficient for drainage, put in earth enough 
to bring the plant to the proper height. Turn 
