The Story-Book of the Fields 



influence the plant will languish and decay, so 

 that if vegetation is to flourish the earth must 

 hold both air and water. But if there is no 

 hole in the flower-pot, or if this hole is 

 obstructed, the water will not run out, there 

 will be no room for the air, and without this 

 the roots will decay. On the contrary, if 

 after saturating the earth the water flows out 

 freely by the hole at the bottom, the damp 

 earth will be like a sponge, penetrated by the 

 air throughout, and the plant will flourish. 

 This is the reason for the fragment of earthen- 

 ware, which prevents the hole as the bottom 

 from being filled up, and for the layer of small 

 stones, which allows the air to circulate freely. 

 These reasons apply to cultivation on a 

 large scale as well as to that of a flower in a 

 pot. After the water has moistened the 

 ground it must flow away, or else the roots 

 will decay for lack of air. This is why clay 

 soil, which retains the water after being 

 saturated, is bad for cultivation ; while light 

 soil, composed of sand and clay, which allows 

 the water to flow away freely, is good. For 

 the same reason a sandy subsoil is favourable 

 to vegetation, while a clay subsoil is bad for 

 it. With a sandy subsoil the conditions are 

 the same as with a flower-pot open at the 



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