BiGELow] PLANTS WITHOUT SOIL 75 



the stem and leaves in the Hght, and the whole plant will grow 

 and thrive if it is kept warm. I have not found so much advan- 

 tage in keeping the roots in darkness as I had anticipated. In 

 most of my experiments they have been wholly in the light. This 

 is undoubtedly somewhat of a disadvantage to the plant, but to be 

 able to watch the development of roots adds greatly to the interest. 



I have found the tablets somewhat helpful as a fertilizer, but 

 my belief is that they are most efficacious when they are used alone 

 and not added to earth or other nutritious substances. 



Contrary to the persistent belief or to the inquiries of most 

 young folks and of many teachers, let me say that the tablets do 

 not germinate nor aid in germinating the seeds. They feed the 

 plant after the tiny roots have been formed and are ready to take 

 food. In fact, the application of the chemical solution in the very 

 earliest stages of germination has seemed to me to be a disad- 

 vantage. To germinate a seed only three things are necessary : 

 warmth, moisture and air. It will not germinate with only one or 

 two of these. It must have all three. The tablet solution will 

 not supply the warmth nor the air, and the moisture is better sup- 

 plied by water than by the solution. Darkness is helpful, but not 

 an absolute essential for germination. Allow the seeds to sprout 

 in the ordinary old-fashioned method on moist cotton, blotting 

 paper, etc., and apply the solution only to feed them as soon as 

 the young plants tell you by starting their roots that they are ready 

 for food. 



For four years I have experimented extensively with this solu- 

 tion by growing plants in a great variety of situations. This has 

 not been work, it has been play, most enjoyable hours snatched 

 from the pressure of many duties. I have come to love plants, 

 not alone from the scientific or the esthetic standpoint, but as 

 pets. My desire has been to< create and increase an interest and 

 love for the growth of our common plants, in their entirety, as 

 living things. It is not enough to know the flowers, not even 

 enough to know the plants, that is at any one stage of their exist- 

 ence, in the sense of knowing either the name or structure. The 

 message coming to us from the Great Nature-Study Teacher, re- 

 garding one species of plants, was intended I think to apply to all. 

 He said " consider the Hlies of the field how they gronK" 



[How to obtain the tablets. — A box containing 30 tablets, with full direc- 

 tions for use, will be mailed for ten cents — a very small amount which is 



