. Lessons with plants. Suggestions for seeing and interpreting some of the common forms of vegetation. ave said (485a) that naturalists are disputing as tothe original causes of variation, but the horticul-turist knows how to start off variations. Anychange in the conditions in which the plant grows 420 LESSOJVS WITS PLANTS will do it. More heat, less heat, more food, lessfood, more water, training, growing under glass orin the shade or in the sun,—these and other factors which the horticultur-ist has at his controlcause, or at leastbring out, differencesin plants ; or he can^lll produce diffe
. Lessons with plants. Suggestions for seeing and interpreting some of the common forms of vegetation. ave said (485a) that naturalists are disputing as tothe original causes of variation, but the horticul-turist knows how to start off variations. Anychange in the conditions in which the plant grows 420 LESSOJVS WITS PLANTS will do it. More heat, less heat, more food, lessfood, more water, training, growing under glass orin the shade or in the sun,—these and other factors which the horticultur-ist has at his controlcause, or at leastbring out, differencesin plants ; or he can^lll produce differences bycrossing (Obs. xlvi).The variation is thestart; selection doesthe rest. 535. The wild dah-lia and a cultivatedvariety are shown inFig. 430. How wasit done? The wildkind was got better care andmore food than ithad in its nativeMexican home, andall the conditions of its life were changed. Itbegan to vary. Just what factor or set of factorscaused these variations we shall never know; butone variation produced an abnormal number ofrays (probably because of more food supply and. Fig. 430. Forms of the wild and cultivated dahlia,Half natural size. UPON WHAT DOES A PLANT LIVlSf 421 redundant vigor), and the gardener liked it. Hesowed the seed, and from the plant bearing themost doubled flowers again sowed the seed. It wasonly a question of perseverance, a uniform ideal,and time. 535a. The teacher who desires to enquire further into these sub-jects may consult Plant-Breeding and Survival of the Unlike. LXXXIII. UPON WHAT DOES A PLANT LIVE? 536. The plantlet at first lives upon the nutri-ment stored in the seed, or in the tuber or it soon must shift for itself. Plant it in asmall pot which has been filled with firmly com-pacted earth. In a short time the pot will befilled with roots, and the plant is pot-bound. Se-cure a large pot-bound plant from a it upside down and knock ofE the pot, as agardener does. How could such a root-growthtake
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