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To “set thinking’ some people would take an earth- 
quake or an avalanche; but when this sort of thing is 
needed to start their brains working, the “ thinking ”’ is 
not likely to be good fer nuch. 
But I hope that som. f you will find plenty to think 
about in the seeds whica your teacher is going to show 
you; and I hope that these thoughts may be the begin- 
ning of an interest and curiosity that will last as long as 
you live. 
The seeds which I got that morning were those of 
the bean, squash, pea, and corn; and your teacher has 
been good enough to get for you these same seeds, and 
she will show you how to do with them just what I have 
been doing this past week. 
First, I filled a pot with finely sifted earth, and 
planted the different seeds; then I filled a glass with 
water, floated some cotton wool upon its surface, and 
in this wool laid some beans; and then my garden 
planting was done. 
During the following days I kept the earth in the pot 
slightly moist. The cotton wool in the glass of water 
did this for itself. 
And how carefully I watched my two little gardens! 
For ‘three days the pot of carih kept its scenes 
Nothing happened there, so far as I could see. But 
the beans that were laid upon the cotton wool grew 
fat and big by the second day, just like those that your 
teacher soaked over night; and by the third day their 
seed coats had ripped open a little way, just as your 
coat would rip open if it were tightly buttoned up and 
suddenly you grew very fat; and out of the rip in the 
