40 DAVET'S PRIMER 



The question raised in the last talk as to " How are 

 trees fed? " was not answered. Here is an imposing, 

 lofty specimen of the sugar maple, of the " Bird's eye " 

 type. If you look at the man by the tree you can form 

 some idea of the size of the latter. This tree, also, is in 

 good health because it receives a supply of food. Trees 

 in the woods take care of themselves. For thousands 

 of years some of the forests have been producing leaves, 

 and every fall these leaves are thrown off, and if you 

 scrape away the top layer you would find innumerable, 

 healthy, fine, thread-like roots feeding on these decay- 

 ing leaves. (Children, it is very unwise to burn up the 

 leaves in the fall of the year ; see what is said about it 

 on page 104). But there is something else you must re- 

 member, which is this: as the trees are thick in the 

 forests there is no grass growing there, and THROUGH 

 the dead leaves which lie on the ground both the rain 

 and the air pass, and no tree can thrive without both 

 air and water. 



Now, children, in the future, watch the old pasture 

 lots, and you will see that nearly all the trees are sickly, 

 and many of them dying. But in the open, cultivated 

 fields, the trees are nearly all healthy (like this one). 

 The reason is this : the farmer plows at a depth of about 

 eight inches and, in doing this, turns under stubble, 

 weeds and other vegetable matter, and on these the 

 roots feed ; and, besides this, in working the soil, the 

 air and the water are admitted to the roots, keeping 

 them healthy, and supplying food. If you will watch, 



