VIII. 



WATER 



The soil may have been ground and mixed, perhaps 

 transported long distances, and otherwise prepared by 

 the various labourers 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 watering ? 



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 



