3. PLANTS AND WATER. 



Illustrative material: A dried leafy shoot from some growing 

 plant and three bean seedlings that have attained their rough 

 leaves; two small bottles, one filled with water; a fruit jar. 



Evaporation from Plants. If we cut off a leafy branch 

 from a growing plant and put it in a warm oven, the 

 leaves and stem will soon become much smaller and 

 lighter and more brittle. This is because the water which 

 the branch contained has been evaporated by the heat. 

 Often more than four fifths of the weight of a growing 

 plant is water. Hay is dried grass. The farmer cuts 

 his grass and lets it He 

 exposed to the heat of 

 the sun until most of 

 the water it contained 

 has evaporated. 



Water Necessary. 

 If we cut off two bean 

 seedlings at the surface 

 of the ground and put 

 the stem of one into 

 a bottle of water and 

 that of the other into an 



empty bottle, We Shall FlG - Plants need water. 



find that the leaves of the seedling that we put in the 

 empty bottle will soon droop, while those of the other 

 will remain fresh. (Figure 8.) This experiment 

 teaches some important things about plants. First, it 



G. &M. Ag. 2. I 



