6 THE FIRST BOOK OF FARMING 



work in harmony with the laws and principles which 

 control them. 



Let us take up the study of some of these groups 

 of agents, beginning with the most important or 

 central one on the farm. 



Which do you think is the most important group ? 

 Some will say " tools." The majority will probably 

 say, study the soil first, " because we must work the 

 soil before we can grow good crops." Some few 

 will mention " plants." This last is right. The 

 farm animals are dependent on plants for food. We 

 till or work the soil to produce plants. Plants are 

 living, growing things, and certain requirements or 

 conditions are necessary for their growth and de- 

 velopment ; we cannot intelligently prepare the soil 

 for plant growth until we know something about the 

 work of plants and the conditions they need to do 

 their work well. 



For our first study of plants let us get together a 

 number of farm and garden plants. Say, we have a 

 corn plant, cotton, beet, turnip, carrot, onion, potato, 

 grass, geranium, marigold, pigweed, thistle, or other 

 farm or garden plants. In each case get the entire 

 plant, with as much root as possible. Do these 

 plants in any way resemble one another? All are 

 green, all have roots, all have stems and leaves, some 

 of them have flowers, fruit, and seeds, and the others 

 in time will produce them. 



Why does the farmer raise these plants? For 

 food for man and animals; for clothing; for orna- 

 mental purposes ; for pleasure, etc. 



