The soil <md the plant 



65 



Water comes from the rain, but the rain does not 

 fall every day. How do the plants manage to get 

 water on dry days? A simple experiment will show 

 you one way. Put about four tablespoonsful of dry 

 soil on to the funnel shown in Fig. 29 and then pour 

 on two tablespoonsful of water. Measure what runs 

 through. You will find it very little; most of the water 

 sticks to the soil. Even after several days the soil was 





Fig. 29. 



Loam and sand both retain water, 



but loam better than sand 



still rather moist. Soil has the power of keeping a 

 certain amount of water in reserve for the plant, it only 

 allows a small part of the rain to run through. Do the 

 experiment also with sand, powdered clay, and leaf 

 mould. Some water always remains behind, but less in 

 the case of sand than in the others. In one experi- 



E. 6 



