"Oh yes," said Norah, "They absorb liquid food from the soil.""Well then," said Fred, "this liquid food rises upward through the stem and branches, and along the footstalk till it reaches the leaves. Teacher says the earth-food, which the roots absorb, is no use to the plant till it has passed through the leaves. It flows through the footstalk, then through the ribs, and then the veins carry it all through the leaf. While it flows through the leaf, it absorbs some of the air, which the breathing pores take in. It is this that makes the liquid into food fit for the plant."SUMMARY
The surface of the leaf-blade is crowded with breathing- pores. The leaves breathe in some of the air through these pores. This makes the sap into food fit for feeding the plant.
More about the Mine
"Fred," said Norah, "I"ve been thinking about those dreadful mines. You say there is always some of that bad gas coming out of the coal.
"I should think that, after a time, the mine would get full of it. How do the men manage to breathe down there? I wonder it does not choke them.""Teacher has made that all clear to us now," said Fred.
