VERTICAL FARMING 7 



accomplish in the way of improvement by giving cultivated 

 trees and smaller plants a suitable place to grow, rather than 

 force them to combat all the adversities of a resistant soil. 



Animals Help. Tiny worms and bugs soon begin to burrow 

 into the weaker points of the rocks, and as the work goes on 

 much larger cousins follow them. Their action is to open 

 channels through which water can reach more effectively the 

 harder rock within. They also do large amounts of grinding 

 and mixing on their own part. Their excretions and their dead 

 bodies add more organic matter to the soil and help pave the 

 way for a good garden or a fruitful field. 



u. s. G. s. 



SOIL GROUND AND MIXED BY ANTS 



Each Force Helps the Others. These forces in their slow 

 work of grinding up the rocks into earth meal do not work 

 separately, but each helps the other. When one worker has 

 opened a way into the rock, his success is immediately fol- 

 lowed by activities on the part of the others. The roots and 

 worms open channels to permit the entrance of more water, 

 which may mean more freezing and more cracking, and there is 

 more room for roots. An expansion crack works the same 

 way. The pits made in the face of the rock by the action of 

 the air make suitable homes for the mosses and other plants. 

 It is a big job, and the work is accomplished only by all hands 

 keeping busy. 



