New Series, Supplement to December, 1905. 



419 



A moist soil is one that holds all the water that will stick to 



all the little grains — no more 

 and no less. 



Do yon see that the hand in 

 this picture has been squeezing 

 some soil but no water has 

 been pressed out, yet it is damp 

 enough to hold together and 

 shows the impression of the 

 fingers. That is a moist soil, 

 and plants are most comfort- 

 able when the soil is in that 

 condition. 



Notice that in this pic- 

 ture the soil has been 

 sc[ueezed, but when released it 

 ^y^°'^' crumbles into a shapeless pile. 



That is dry soil and is unable to afford much drink to the plant. 

 WJien soil is in that condition about the roots, they suffer from thirst and 

 therefore are very uncomfortable. 



Alost of you never thought that water has the power to stick to any- 

 thing. It has, however. It does not stick like tar or molasses, but it 

 can hold to things to some degree. 



You can see what a boy is 

 doing in this picture. He is just 

 out of bed in the morning and 

 has washed his face and hands. 

 I hope he did it thoroughly and 

 when he goes to the breakfast 

 table will not be sent back to do 

 it all over again. With a towel 

 he is wiping off the water that 

 has held to his skin. 



In the next picture some one 

 has a pebble in one hand and a 

 fountain pen filler in the other. 

 Instead of ink in the filler there 

 is water. 



After putting on the first 

 drop, watch it spread over the 

 pebble. That drop, spread out, 

 is called a water-film. After 



Removing the water. 



