"
It is true that what are called "varieties" can be produced among
cultivated plants, as among birds and animals, by change of food and
climate, and by care and training. The same plant will soon look very
different if taken from a dry, sunny spot, and placed in a damp, shady
corner. I have heard that if plants are moved from their home on the
seashore, and placed in a dry, hot place, their thick, fleshy leaves will
in time quite change their character, becoming thin and hairy. In the same
way a tree, if given room, will spread its branches wide, but will shoot
upwards if hemmed in on all sides. It is important, however, to remember
that man has never been able by his skill to produce a new kind of either
plant or animal. But we were speaking of your seeds, so tiny, yet so unlike
each other. These differences become much more apparent if the seeds are
looked at through a microscope, and the varieties in their way of growing
are endless.
You know where to look for the tiny seeds of the apple-tree; but may not
have noticed, that while they lie safely hidden inside the fruit, the
strawberry's yellow seeds are outside. Then some seeds, such as peas and
laburnums, grow in pods. Some, like the hips and haws, we must look for
between the stalk and the flower, or in the place where the flower has
been. You may have seen a hawthorn-tree in the spring all white with its
scented blossoms. If you pass by the same place months later, when spring
and summer are past, what a change! Where the sweet flowers had been, the
red berries, which the birds like so well, hang in clusters.
Pages:
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159