Such Stuff as Blooms Are Made of 65 



How Plants Eat 



Let's take the last question first. Plants, of 

 course, gather their mineral food from the soil, 

 which of course is common knowledge. But 

 do you always bear in mind that the only way 

 they can take up any food is in the form of a 

 solution? Absolutely no "solids" are allowed in 

 their diets, and incidentally this is another big 

 reason why it is absolutely essential to have a 

 plentiful supply of moisture present. Without 

 it, therefore, though a soil maj^ be chock full of 

 plant food, the plants will starve to death. 



The httle plant roots and "root hairs" that 

 you can scarcely see are in reality hollow tubes 

 with absorbent sides. They search out the rich 

 soil juices and drink them up. Then by a 

 physical process called "osmosis" and other 

 means, the plant juices, running contrarj^ to all 

 the laws of gravity, supply the topmost twig 

 and leaf with the necessary sustenance. 



The reader, of course, knows all about nitro- 

 gen, phosphoric acid, and potash, as being the 

 three important plant foods; that it is necessary 

 to have enough lime in the soil to keep it " sweet " ; 

 and other "first" principles learned in connec- 

 tion with outside gardening. 



So we will take all that for granted, and in- 



