4 AGRICULTURE. 



buried too deeply in the soil. We can easily cause seeds to 

 sprout, and we can, at the same time, find out just when they 

 will sprout. If we place some wheat grains in a dry dish and 

 keep them dry, they will not sprout either in winter or sum- 

 mer it makes no difference whether they are cold or warm, 

 they will not sprout so long as they are kept dry. We there- 

 fore conclude that seeds require water or moisture in order to 

 sprout. If this were not so we would have the grain sprouting 

 in the bins and granaries. At the same time we notice how 

 important it is to have all bins and granaries quite dry. 



Now let us take three deep dishes, such as soup plates. We 

 get three pieces of flannel and cut them so that when once 

 folded each piece will just about cover the bottom of the dish. 

 We place about twenty grains of wheat in each between the 

 folded flannel. We then moisten one plate and set it away in 

 a coyl place, and we keep the flannel moist all the time ; we 

 moisten the second and set it in a warm place, in a sunny 

 window, for instance, and we keep it moist ; we fill up the 

 third and set it also beside it in the warm place, and we keep 

 the plate filled with water. We can see what changes take 

 place from day to day by lifting up the flannel. The grain 

 kept cool does not sprout ; the grain kept covered with water 

 so that the air does not reach it does not sprout, even though 

 it is warm ; but the grain that is kept warm, that gets some air, 

 and that has a little moisture soon sprouts and starts to grow. 

 We now conclude that for seeds to sprout they must have 

 water, heat and air, and if any one of these three be lacking, 

 sprouting will not take place. 



By means of warm, moistened cloths we can tell whether the 

 seed grain that we desire to sow is likely to sprout or not in 

 the ground, and about how much is likely to grow. This is 

 important, as seeds when they are old lose the power of sprout- 

 ing. Some seeds lose their vitality or power of sprouting much 

 sooner than others. Can you find out which these are ? 



