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ee STIRRING THE SOIL. 
. ° 
_ the vital knot, (a point easily discoverable in large seeds,) one of 
which descends and is called the root, while the other ascends to 
form the leaves, stem, flowers, and fruit. °. 
This is what is meant by the germination of the seed, and this 
may be effected by the aid of heat and moisture alone, as is done 
with mustard and cress, when raised on wet flannel in a saucer. But 
© plants raised in this manner cannot be of long duration ; as, ale 
they will live for a short time on the albumen contained in the 
(on which they feed, as the chicken does on the nourishment con- ~ 
tained in the egg,) this is soon exhausted, and the plant will die if 
not supplied with fresh food, which it can only obtain a bas of 
the root. Thus, the root is necessary, not only to f e to 
support the plant and to keep it upright, but to supply it with food; 
and nature has given it a tendency to bury itself in the ground, not 
only to enable the plant to take a firm hold of the soil, but to preserve 
the root in a fitting state for absorbing food, which it can only do’ 
when it is kept warm, moist, and secluded from the light. + 
The manner in which the root is fitted for the purposes for which 
it was designed, affords an admirable illustration of the care and 
wisdom displayed by the Great Creator in all his works. In nature 
* nothing is superfluous, and yet everything has been provided for. It 
has been already observed, that the two principal uses of the root are 
to give the plant a firm hold of the ground, and to supply it with 
food. _ For the first purpose the root either spreads so widely through : 
the surface soil as to form a sufficient base for the height of the plant, 
or it descends a sufficient depth into the earth to steady the part 
above ground; and in either case the growth of the plant is wisely 
and wonderfully proportioned to the strength of the support which 
the root affords it. For the second purpose, that of supplying the 
plant with nourishment, the root divides at the a % each 
shoot into numerous fibrés or fibrils, each furnished at its extremi 
_ with a spongiole or spongy substance, which affords the only ve 
the plant possesses of absorbing the moisture necessary for its sup- 
port. It is thus quite clear, that every thing that tends to nourish 
and increase the growth of the root, must contribute to the health and’ 
vigour of the rest of the plant; and that no plant can thrive, the root 
of which is cramped in its growth, or weakened for want of nourish- 
ment. This being allowed, it is evident that the frst step towards 
promoting the growth of any plant is to provide a fitting receptacle 
* ; 
