THE FOOD OF PLANTS. 271 



have proved that seeds will not germinate in light, 

 although supplied with heat and moisture, when 

 the actinic rays are cut off. Deprived of the lu- 

 minous rays, with the .actinic in full force, they 

 spring into life with great rapidity. Seeds sown 

 upon the surface of the earth will scarcely germi- 

 nate, as soil cultivators very well know ; and on the 

 other hand, seeds buried deep, so that the actinic 

 rays cannot reach them, will certainly perish. The 

 planting of seeds so as to secure the proper distance 

 below the surface is a most important point in 

 husbandry, as it has much to do with the early 

 starting of the plants, and the success of the crops. 

 How beautiful and wonderful is the process of 

 germination, when the chemical and vital phenom- 

 ena are set in motion by the actinic rays ! The 

 starchy particles of the seed become converted into 

 gum and sugar upon which the young plant feeds. 

 The tiny root peeps out from the husk, and with 

 mysteriously directed powers plunges downward 

 into the fertile soil. The slender plurm^e pushes 

 upward towards the light. The soil cracks and 

 heaves, and the infant vegetable emerges fresh and 

 moist into the world of air and sunshine, with the 

 unfolding of the first pair of leaves ; and with the 

 first lighting of the sunbeam upon their tender 

 tissues commences a series of chemico-vital phe- 

 nomena wholly different from that of the preced- 



