12 AGRICULTURE;. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE PLANT AND WATER. 



THE WATF.R OF THE PLANT. In a long season of drouth, 

 the grass turns brown and withers, the leaves of the trees 

 dry up, and shrubs and plants of all kinds droop and die. 

 In the case of plants grown in the house, everyone knows that 

 they must be watered regularly. When the rains are frequent, 

 how the grass grows, and how all plant life becomes green and 

 thrifty ! Nothing more need be said to prove that water is 

 one of the most important foods for plants. Further, we 

 find some water in all plants, some fruits being made up of over 

 nine-tenths water. If any plant, or any part of a plant, such 

 as a piece of root, a chunk of green wood, a bunch of green 

 grass, or a handful of leaves, be placed in a warm oven, it will 

 gradually become lighter in weight owing to its losing water or 

 becoming drier. Even well-dried wood will lose a little water. 

 If we were to take 100 pounds of several substances, such as 

 the following, and dry them out thoroughly, we would find that 

 they would become lighter by the following amounts, that is, 

 they would lose these amounts of water : 



Roots, carrots, turnips, etc , 85 to 95 pounds. 



Potatoes 75 " 



Green pasture grass 80 " 



Timber wood 40 to 50 " 



Dried or cured hay 15 " 



Grains, such as wheat, oats, etc .... 10 to 15 " 



We can therefore say that roots contain from 85 to 95 per 

 cent, of water, potatoes 75 per cent., etc. 



