130 THE GARDEN OF EARTH 



months, through mild autumn days and cold days follow- 

 ing, they lay there quietly ; doing nothing that could be 

 seen. Then spring came. In that sheltered cellar no 

 sunshine could enter; and the air was found to be 

 actually colder than it had been through the winter. 

 Yet, strange to say, those tubers began to sprout, began 

 to send out slender shoots, bearing leaves. 



Now why and how was this ? If they grew then, when 

 there was no added warmth to make them, why should 

 they not have begun earlier ? 



Simply because they were not ready ! They needed 

 the winter months for all that had to be done first ; for 

 the changes that had to go on in them, before such growth 

 could become possible. Warmth at the right time would 

 help them. But warmth before they were ready to 

 sprout was useless. They had to get through their 

 preparatory work; and then — and not till then — could 

 they carry out those tasks in life, which would be 

 their duty to do. 



It is the same with hundreds of plants, which scatter 

 their seeds on the ground in autumn days. 



There the seeds lie, to be gradually washed into the 

 soil, where they often find at once plenty of warmth and 

 moisture ; quite enough, one would think, to make them 

 " germinate " without delay. Yet they do not. They 

 send no roots downward, no leaves and stems upward. 

 They lie hidden ; making ready for their future. 



And perhaps a cold spring comes, much colder than 

 the autumn was. Such cold must and does hinder 

 advance. Yet, in spite of it, many seeds and bulbs 

 start active life, though slowly, and begin to send forth 

 leaves, sometimes even flowers. For now they are 



