Do these spores, like seeds, produce stem from one part, and root from the other?
No, my boy, the little globular things have no plumula and radicle; but that part which is exposed to the light produces stem, and from the shaded portion the root descends.
Are other plants produced from spores?
Yes, Willie, the mushrooms and sea-weed are. The productive organs of lichens, the most imperfect of plants, are the Shields, as they are called, upon the Thallus, or leaf-stem.
Well, father, I think now we have gone over all the different sorts of plants and trees, and I feel myself the wiser for your kind and pretty lessons. I shall be a regular botanist now.
Not so fast, my little man; you have only begun your lesson. There is plenty more to learn. There are many thousands of names of plants, most of which are hard to understand, and many are hard to pronounce. Then you have to know the arrangements of all these, and their peculiar natures and uses.
Ah! I see my work is not done. Never mind, you have taught me the alphabet of botany. I mean now to study all the flowers and trees I come to, with the help of your letters, until I can read off easily all about their peculiar habits and modes of growth.
Do so, my son; but don’t, like some philosophers, elbow God out of the field. Be ready to notice His thoughtfulness and goodness in the world of plants; and, as they in a dumb manner show forth His praise, be you willing, with heart and voice, to say, “My Father made them all.”