Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 November 1874 — Plant Life in Winter. [ARTICLE]

Plant Life in Winter.

Activity in plant life in winter is not alone confined to the cryptogamia. Dur(pg this inclement season many of our forest trees ripen and perfect their seeds. The firs and pines are not like the. deciduous trees, which allow the moistttre they contain to freeze in winter. The temperature of a pine tree under the bark never falls below the congealing point, no matter how severe the cold may be outside. Thesq resinpus trees keep up a kind of low tree heat as do the bears a low animal heat in freezing weather. Consequently the circulation of sap goes on and the immature seeds are ripened. In some localities in the northern part of our country those eve«>

greens grow which bear true leaves, like the ivy, laurel, or perhaps the hollv. We call these plants evergreens; but w fact they change their leaves as do the deciduous varieties. ‘ The change is nyade gradually, one leaf dropping off when another has grown to replace it, and so the tree is never wholly deprived of its foliage. It is probable that in winter there is considerable vegetative activity in these evergreens, as it is impossible that these changes can take place when the sap is completely dormant. Sunlight and warmth are agents of tremenP ower io connection with plant activities. If in the depth of winter a mild day occurs, we shall find, by making incisions in the stem or branches of trees, that the slumbering forces are partially awakened and the sap is in motion. We speak of the trees as being bare of foliage in winter; but this is not absolutely true, for4rees haY’e winter leaves as well as summer leaves. These leaves are less apparent, but they arc no less real or perfect. If we take front a tree one of its buds and examine it carefully we shall see that it is composed of a little bunch of true leaves nicely compressed in layers, resembling fish-scales. These are the winter leaves of trees, and every species has them perfectly- characteristic of its kind. This winter dress of trees is no apparel suddenly formed or put on late in the autumn; it is the growth of all tire spring and summer months. During the hot season, when the sap is active, it was diverted away from the buds by the great demand of the expanding summer foliage, so that their growth was sloyv. They remain immature until the summer leaves begin to fall, when the sap flows toward the buds and they are perfected. The winter dress of trees has a purpose in the economy of plant life. The structure in winter does hot demand nutrition, but it must have protection, and this the buds afford. In them is stored up all the beauty and glory of the vegetation of the coming year, and thus they possess an interest of the highest kind. Nature is very careful in these buds, for it seems to understand that in them exist latent forms of life most intimately connected with the welfare of the race. In order to protect - them they are compressed together tightly in the smallest possible space and covered in under an air-tight and water-tight roof. The outer layer of buds is either covered by- a warm coat of fine hairs or cemented closely rvith a resinous —or glutinous secretion, which resists the action of water. — Nichol's Fireside Science. Every- one knows that a cold or cough ought not to be neglected, and that if it is not attended to in season it may result fatally. Our advice is to take caw-of-itbefore4t4s-too-late, and use Dr. Wishart’s Pine Tree Tar Cordial, which can be had of any druggist. Dr. Wishart’s Worm Sugar Drops are the best remedy for Yvorms ever discovered. Through the length and breadth of the land the celebrated SILVER TIPPED -Boots and Shoes are sold by the nullion, for parents know they last twice as long as those without Tips. Try them. For sale by all dealers.