Excerpt from Horticulture: A Text Book for High Schools and Normals
Before taking up the special problems of gardening and fruit growing, let us make a rapid survey of the broader phases of plant life.
Importance of Plants. - All human life, and indeed, all animal life is dependent upon plants for sustenance. Most plants are able to obtain their nourishment from soil and air. The food thus produced is stored in the form of fruits, vegetables, and other crops, and is used for the maintenance of men and lower animals.
Without plants no animal life could long exist; as animals are not able to obtain their nourishment directly from soil and air alone.
Conditions for Plant Growth. - Because of the great value of plant growth to human life, it is quite necessary that we study carefully the needs of all plants and the special needs of all our crop plants.
The needs of plants may be grouped under six heads: (1) warmth, (2) moisture, (3) food supply, (4) air, (5) light, (6) freedom from enemies. If we are able to supply the best conditions under each of these heads we will secure the greatest crops. The great problems of gardening and orcharding are to place the growing plants in such favorable conditions.
Warmth; Temperature. - Plants are not alike in their temperature requirements. Some grow in cold regions where snow and ice surround them. Others are found in torrid regions where frost never occurs. Wide differences are seen in the warmth required by our fruits and vegetables in the temperate zone. Lemons, oranges, certain grapes, and bananas can endure very little, if any freezing weather, even in the dormant season. Peaches are more easily winter-killed than apples and pears. Garden peas and lettuce can endure cold, frosty weather, and do not thrive well in hot weather. Melons and beans prefer the hot weather.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге Horticulture (Kary Cadmus Davis)