II
1.So much for the savings-banks that we find among animals；let us now look at some vegetable savings-banks.We find it pleasant to break into some of theanimals‘banks and enjoy their hoards，but our verylife depends on our making use of the stores of food which plants lay up.
2.Plants have many different kinds of seeds，but these all consist of two parts-the young plant itself，and a store of starch and fat for it to feed on，until its roots and leaves ace strong enough todraw their nourishment from the earth and the air.The grain-plants from which we derive our “staffof life“are merely grasses whoseseeds contain a large store of such food.In a large seed，suck as aBEANa，Seed-leaves；b，Young plant.
bean，you can see these different parts most easily.Take a bean out of a pod，and peel off its shining coat.Youfind that it then divides easily into two parts，which are slightly joined at one edge.
3.Just at the point where the two halves are joined，you can see a little raised part which belongs to neither half，but is joined to both.This is the young plant itself，and those two flat，green，fleshy parts are really two of its leaves，They are called seed-leaves，and are packed full of food for the young plant.When it begins togrow，it absorbsthis nourishment from its savings-bank，and the two seed-leaves gradually shrivelup anddecay .
4.The seeds of our fruit-trees are still more ingenioussavings-banks.When the plum-tree or the cherry-tree puts away its savings，it keeps two separate accounts：one part of the store is to be paid to the young plant in the way we have just described，and the other is meant for a bribe or reward to any bird that will carry away the seed to some place where it can have room to grow.The soft part which you eat is the bird’s share；crackthe stone，and you will find the young plant and its share of the savings-bank inside.
5.We have next to speak of plants that store uptheir savings in their roots，such as the turnip，carrot，parsnip，and beet.The part of the turnip which is eaten is a kind of thickened root called a tap-root.In order todiscover its use to the plant，youmust leave the turnip in the ground for two years.During its first year，the plant grows into the form which we commonly see；it has no stem，but a bunch of large green leaves growing from the top of a very thick tap-root.
7.If you were asked to name other plants whose roots serve as food，you might mention the onion.This would be a mistake，however.The roots of the onion are small and thread-like，and the bulb that we use is not a root but something quite different.If you take a young bulb of the onion or any similar plant and split itup the middle，you will see that the bulb is merely theONIONSlower part of the leaves，which have begun to turn thick and fleshy.This bulb is a new kind of savings-bank ；the thick leaves act like the tap-root of the turnip，and store up food for the flower-stem.
8.Many of you have no doubt grown tulips or hyacinths from bulbs，and have noticed how the flowers draw their nourishment from this kind of savings-bank.In countriessuch as Cape Colony，where there isa long dry season，a large number ofBULB OF TULIPwild flowers grow from bulbs.These bulbs are stores of food and moisture，kept safe for the future plant during the time of drought.
9.We have already seen how plants store up food in their seeds，roots，and leaves.The stems of plants are less commonly used as savings-banks，but there is one well-known and most useful plant whose store is laid up in its stem.That plant is the potato.But，you may say，we do not eat the stem of the potato plant，and we should not find much nourishment in it，if we did.Have you not seen potatoes dug up out of the ground，and are you not quite sure that the useful part of the plant is its root？
10.If you put a potato into damp earth，or keep it moistPOTATO PLANTin a dark place during the spring-time，you will get an answer to your question.You will find that in each “eye”or hollow of the potato a little leaf-bud appears，which soon grows out into a new stem.Now leaf-buds do not grow from roots，but from stems，so that thepotato is not really a root，but a kind of underground s t e m .A n u n d e r g r o u n d stem which has been very much thickened by storingPOTATOTuber with leaf-buds.
11.There are many other ways in which we see provision made in nature for storing up food for times of need；but those we have mentioned may be enough to make you think about the matter，and find out someof the other ways for yourself.They may also help to show you that besides having your school savings-bank for your spare pennies，you have in your own bodies the means of laying up stores of health and strength for future years.
