CHAPTER VIII 

 WATER 



The soil may have been ground and mixed, perhaps 

 transported long distances, and otherwise prepared by the 

 various laborers already described; but even then no 

 crops, whether wild or cultivated, can thrive in it without 

 moisture. In perfectly dry soil they must starve in the 

 midst of plenty; for they can no more get at the food 

 around them, however abundant it may be, without water, 

 than if it were locked up. To them, indeed, under such 

 circumstances, it is locked up. 



Of course, we all know, as a matter of fact, that plants 

 fade and wither, and eventually shrivel and die, if they be 

 kept without water. We may know, too, that three- 

 quarters of the weight of most plants, and a great deal 

 more of many, is made up of nothing but water. But 

 when once they have had a supply of water, why should 

 they need more? Cannot they keep it? and if not, 

 how do they lose it? Why do they need constant water- 

 ing? 



A potato is watery: only one-fourth of its weight is 

 solid matter; the rest is all water. An artichoke con- 

 tains still more water, and still less solid matter; a turnip 

 is more watery still; and a pumpkin contains only five 

 and a half per cent of solid matter. 



And yet, when we have stored our potatoes and tur- 

 nips, or our pumpkins, we do not find it necessary to 



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