The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-11-28


beans in both bottles were soaked "a
hours and the were put in dry bot
ties. Bottle A contained sufficient air
TO start the few seeds. Bottle Il had
not enough. The water in the tum-
bier G. did not contain sufficient air for
termination.
up Of the seed itself. AS seeds are
quite similar in general characteris-
ties, studying one closely will give g
fair understanding Of others.
The common white bean is easy to
get, and to study, SO we will take 1t
BIS an example.
soak a few beans IN water over
night. Then take one and cut the
tough outer covering around the edge
with the point Of 8 pin. The halves
can then be easily spread apart, and
the tiny plant discovered. 1t lies
snugly Graded In one end of the bean.
You will see that it has wv parts, a
small waxeu point. and a tiny, yellow
fsh, folded leaf. The point Is the root,
and a tender, delicate thing it is.
This little root must work it's way
down into the ground, both to feed
and to hold in place the little plant
II the ground is not we'll prepared, if
ii is too hard and cloddy, the little
root may become SO broken and
bruised as to hinder, IT perhaps en-
AFSly CIleck. us GROWTH
The tiny leaf, too. which must push
upward, needs a soil that is soft and
loose, if it is not to be injured.
Plant q few seeds IN a bed Of wet
sawdust. and you will soon see,
branching out from the main root,
a little rootlets. A little later, a
set Of fine hairs, called root-hairs. Will
appear on the rootlets.
1t is through these hat the plant
gets it's nourishment from the soil.
They take up all the element that
the plant needs, and send them up
through little veins to the stems and
leaves, SIS your food is taken through
your body by the veins, In the shape
Of blood.
The plants blood is called sap. The
tiny mouths can only use the good in
the soil when it Is "in solution" that
is to say, when 1t is thoroughly dis
solved. You can see that 1t will need
considerable moisture to do this. If
the ground is too light and loose, the
water will all drain and dry away, and
no matter how rich the soil may be,
the plant will die for want of food.
SO an important thing to keep in
mind, when preparing the seed-bed, is
that the top soil, to the depth Of sew
eral inches. should be worked up
Eighty and loosely enough SO that the
root can TeaUliJ push Through, dAA
still be pressed firmly enough SO that
the moisture can not all escape.
All over the stem and leaves are
little openings, called pores" It
takes q microscope OF quite high
power to detect them. These are the
plants lungs. Through them it gets
the air it needs to live on.
If you cover a plant SO tightly that
it cannot get air, it will smother just
as surely as you would with a blanket
over your head. That is what will
happen If you get your seeds in too
deep, or II you let the ground get
hard above them before they come up.
IF you wish to be sure just how deep
TO plant your seeds, try this little ex-
pertinent
If you wish to be sure just how
deep to plant your seeds, try this lit
tie experiment.
Take q tall glass turnbler. or a pint
fruit-jar, and fill 1t with earth. Press
down into it, next the glass, three
seeds of any kind you wish to test.
Press the first clear to the bottom,
and the third leave within =" men