MANUAL OF NATURE STUDY. 
89 
Where is the store of nourishment in cabbage ? 
When does the plant draw upon it to support 
the seed factory ? (The next year.) How about 
the turnips ? The radish ? Parsnip ? In what 
respect are these roots like the potato tuber ? How 
different ? 
See third year work for illustrations of the per¬ 
sistence and energy of subterranean roots, for ex¬ 
ample, the willow. 
Nearly all the fleshy roots are biennial plants, while 
the annuals are fibrous. This provision is good 
economy in nature, as the biennial plant must 
have a rich supply of food on hand to develop the 
second year stalk that bears the seed, while the 
annual exhausts all its energy in the development 
of seed the first year. Where is the store-house 
of the annual ? (In the seed.) 
The storehouse of the biennial during the first 
year is underground. Where is it at the close of 
the second year ? Plant a few grains of corn in a 
box of dirt. In a few days examine the growth. 
Which part of the young plant appeared first, the 
root or the stalk ? Why should the root appear 
first ? The first root is called the tap root. When 
does it cease to be of service to the plant ? 
Let the children examine the several stalks that 
still hold the tap root and shell of the grain from 
