52 AGRICULTURE 



Seed Sowing. To have their seeds sown, plants resort to 

 many methods. Sometimes a plant scatters its own seed. This 

 is the case with the balsam, or touch-me-not. If you touch a ripe 

 seed pod, it pops and throws its seed some distance. Sometimes 

 the wind acts as seed bearer. In that case the seeds are very light, 

 such as those of the dandelion and thistle. Sometimes animals 

 convey seeds. Those with hooks and burs, such as beggar weed 

 and cocklebur, stick to the wool or fur or hair of animals, or to 

 the clothing of people, and make them unintentional and often 

 unwilling seed bearers. Plants sometimes treat higher ani- 

 mals as they do insects, and pay them to carry seeds. Berries 

 and orchard fruits have juicy, fleshy coverings. These are used 

 for food, and the seeds are scattered. 



Plants as Food Makers. Seeds, as you learned, contain not 

 only a germ, or little plant, but also a store of nourishment to 

 support the germ in its first stages of plant life. Some seeds, 

 such as those of wheat, oats, barley, rice, and corn, are rich in 

 starch ; these furnish food for man and beast. Some seeds, such 

 as those of the poppy, flax, and cotton, are rich in oils ; they are 

 used to produce oil for illumination, paint, varnish, medicine, 

 food, and for other purposes. 



Did you ever consider that plants are the only real food makers 

 in the world ? Out of inorganic material they form sugar, starch, 

 oil, and other compounds, which they store up in their roots, stems, 

 leaves, fruit, or seeds. From this source, man and the lower 

 animals derive, directly or indirectly, all their food. 



EXPERIMENTS 



1. Collect and compare the stems, roots, leaves, blossoms, and seeds 

 of as many agricultural plants as you can get. 



2. To see the extent of a root system, grow clover plants in a box of 



