68 THE GARDEN OF EARTH 



" The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the 

 blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.'' 



Those words, spoken nearly two thousand years ago, 

 still hold mystery. We have been trying to see some- 

 thing of how the soil is first made ready, by one means 

 and another, so that it may be able to " bring forth " 

 plant-life. But — like the roots growing under ground — 

 we are still feeling our way very much in the dark with 

 such difficult questions. We see what takes place, 

 we " know not how " it happens. Only so much as 

 we do see is full of interest. 



Most of us can recall how Tennyson, studying a tiny 

 plant, touched on these mysteries — 



' ' Flower in the crannied wall, 

 I pluck you out of the crannies ; 

 I hold you here, root and all, in my hand ; 

 Little flower — but if I could understand 

 What you are, root and all, and all in all — 

 I should know what God and man is." 



IV — Tips and Hairs 



And now we have to think again about how roots 

 behave under ground. 



As they climb cautiously downward, into the dark 

 moist earth, they send out branching side roots. When 

 we pull up a plant we seldom fail to find such branching 

 rootlets growing from the main root. 



And if we examine them closely we may be able to 

 make out a few tiny hairs near the tips of the rootlets ; 

 though most likely these could only be seen with the 

 help of a magnifying-glass. 



