ELEMENTARY AGRICULTURE 



CHAPTER I 



THE GROWTH OF PLANTS 



What Makes Plants Grow. If you were asked, 

 "What makes a pig grow?" you would reply, "Milk, 

 grass, corn, etc.," but if you were asked, "What makes 

 a plant grow?" would you answer so readily, "The 

 food which it consumes?" But this is precisely what 

 you should reply. Plants, like animals, must have 

 food and drink, and like animals, they perish without 

 them. At some later time, we shall tell you what 

 these foods are, in such a way that you will readily 

 recognize them at sight. For the present, however, 

 we shall observe the way in which plants grow and 

 find out, if possible, the source from which trfcy get 

 their first food. 



The little pig, or lamb, or calf lives and grows upon 

 the milk of its mother until it is large enough to 

 search for its own food. It then begins to use the 

 same food as the larger animals of its kind. Now, 

 from what source does the little plant get its first 

 food? 



