8 



jtv.^- 



river below. Upon the gravelly knolls it fell, and trickled quickly down, 

 down, deep into the ground among the gravels and coarse soil-grains, 

 and most of it was soon out of sight and out of reach. It fell, too, upon 

 the clay field, where the soil-grains were all so small and close together 

 that the rain could not find a way between them, and so the rain stood, 

 like little ponds and rivers, in the pits and ruts over the field. Lastly it 

 fell upon good soil, and slowly it soaked away down to the roots of the 

 clover and the corn and the flowers, and down past the roots to a safe 

 storehouse below. Next morning what a change ! Even the crops on 

 the hillside and on the gravelly knolls looked fresh and bright. They 

 had kept enough of the rain for one good drink at any rate. On the 

 clay field, the clover stood in danger of having too much of a good thing, 

 for little patches of water were still to be seen here and there. The good 

 soil seemed almost dry again. The corn leaves had straightened out, and 

 every plant in the field was holding its head up straight and strong. 



A few days later, and again great 

 changes. The hillside and the gravel 

 patch were in as bad plight as ever,— 

 dry and parched. The wet clay soil, 

 in the hot sun, had dried and baked and 

 cracked, squeezing and breaking the 

 tender roots. The heavy rain and the 

 hot sun had done bad things for this 

 soil, and for its litttle nursling plants. 

 But on the good soil, the crops had 

 flourished ever since the rain. As soon 

 as the plant roots and the sun had drunk 

 up the moisture at the surface of the 

 ground, the roots sent to the store- 

 house below the message for more 

 water. The ready soil-grains below 

 the roots began to hand the water 

 from one to another up through two, 

 three, and four feet, to keep the roots 

 supplied with plenty to drink. And 

 so, while the ground above was dry 

 and dusty, the rain that had fallen into 

 the good soil many days before, was 

 still kept on tap, and handed out from 

 below when called for. 



The Soil and the Seedling. In every seed there is a possible 

 plant, which will produce many other seeds, food for man or beast. 

 But before the plant can come to life, the seed must be placed in 

 earth. What sort of earth bed does the seed like best ? Soft, and 

 moist, and warm. Soft, that is, free of lumps, and fine, and mellow, so 

 that the earth may lie snug and close to the seed ; moist, so that the 

 seed may swell and burst, and set the young plant free ; warm, so that 

 the little plant may be nursed into life. 



Imagine now, the little seedling just peeping above ground, and 



Fig. 6 The Soil and the Seedling. 



'The earth all about the roots becomes a scene 

 of life and activity " 



