Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-03-29

HIOm tine Towering Plants Of Spring.
From knowledge.
II you cut open hyacinth bulb, or, what Is
simpler to experiment upon, an onion, you win
ind that it consists Of several short abortiye
leaves or thick, heshy scales. In these subter-
ranean leaves the plant stores up the food stuffs
elaborated by its green portions during the
summer, and there they lie the whole winter
through, ready to send up towering stem
early In the succeeding spring. The material
In the old bulb is used in thus producing leaves
and blossoms at the beginning Of the second or
from its side, and I'm these the plant once more
stores up fresh material for the succeeding years
growth.
The hyacinths which we keep in glasses on
our mantel-pieces represent such q reserve of
three or four years accumulation. They have
purposely been prevented from fiowering In
order to make them produce finer uusses of
bloom when they are at length permitted to
follow their own free WILL Thus the balb con-
tains material enough to send up leaves and
so even if grown entirely in the dark. In that
case the leaves will be pale yellow or family
greenish, because the true green pigment
which is the active agent Of digestion, can only
be produced under the influence Of light;
whereas, the flowers will retain their proper
color, because their pigment il always due to
oxidation alone, and Is but little dependent
upon the rays Of sunshine. Even If grown in
an ordinary room, away from the window, the
leaves seldom assume their proper deep tone of
full green; they are mainly dependent on the
fOOd-stuffs laid by In the bulb and do but little
active work on their own account. After the
hyacfnth has Powered, the bulb is reduced to
an empty and faccid mass Of watery brown
scales.
Among all the lily kind such devices for stor-
ing up useful material, either in bulbs or in the
very similar organs known as cOrms, are ex-
tremely common. As a consequence, many of
them produce unusually large and snowy flow
ers. Even among our native English lilies we
can boast of such beautiful blossoms as the
fritillary, the wild hyacinth, the meadow saffron
and the two pretty squiIls while in our gardens
the tiger lilies, tulips, tuberoses, and many
others belong to the same handsome dubious
group. Closely-alied families give Us the bulb
bearing narcissus, dafYOdil, snow-dr0p, amaryllis
and Guernsey lily; the crocus, gladiolus iris and
cOreiag; while the neighboring tribe of orchids.
most Of which have tubers, probably produce
more ornamental flowers than any other family
Of plants in tile whole world.
Among widely different group we get other
herbs which lay by rich stores of starch or SIM
liar nutritious substances in thickened under
ground branches, known as tubers; such. for
example, are the potato and the Jerusalem arti-
choke. Sometimes the root itself is the store
house Tor the accumulated food stuffs, as in the
dahlia, the carrot, the radish and the turnip In
all these cases the plant obviously derives benefit
from the habit which it has acquired of hiding
away its reserve fund beneath the ground, where
it Is much less likely to be discovered and eaten
by it's animal foes, for 1t is obvious that these
special reservoirs Of energetic material, which
the plant intends as food for its own flower or
for its future offspring, are exactly those parts
which animals will be likely unfairly to appro-
pirate to their personal use. What feeds plant
will feed squirrel, a mouse, pig or man
Just as well. Each requires just the same free
elements, whose combination with oxygen may
yield it heat and movement
Thus it happens that the parts Of plants which
we human beings mainly use as food stuffs are
Just the organs where starch has been laid by
for the plants own domestic economy-seeds as
in the pea, bean, wheat, maize, barley, rice or
millet; tubers. as in the potato and Jerusalem
artichoke; corns. as in the yam or tare; and
roots, as in arrow-roOt, turnip, parsnip and car
rot In all these, and in many other cases, the
habit first set up by nature has been sedulously
encouraged and increased by mans deliberate
selection. What man thus consciously effects in
few generations the survival of the 1ittest has
uncOnsciously effected through many long pre-
vious ages Of native development.