THE BOOT 33 



the wonderful thing we call life. It was only the 

 other day that it was discovered that the roots need 

 the help of miriute creatures that live in the soil ! 



13. How invisible creatures (Bacteria) v^rork for 

 the roots. These earth-germs make the soil fit for 

 root food. They are much too small to be seen by the 

 naked eye. And not only are there tiny creatures in 

 the soil to help the roots, but in some plants, if not in 

 all, there are minute creatures in the roots themselves. 

 If you look at the root of clover or scarlet runner or 

 lupin or other plants of the same family, you will find 

 little knots or swellings. These knots are made by 

 masses of tiny living creatures that help the root to 

 get food out of the air.* 



14, Real earth-fairies Not very long ago, people 

 believed in earth-fairies that helped the plants to 

 grow. Well, these earth-germs are the real fairies, 

 and, in tending your little plot of ground, you must 

 see that they are kept comfortable. The earth-germs 

 need air. Now, if the surface of the earth be hard and 

 caked, the air cannot easily get in. You must there- 

 fore keep the surface soil loose, so that the air may 

 get easily in. Too much water in the soil also prevents 

 the air from getting in, and therefore you must see 

 that your plot is well-drained so that water may not 

 lie in the soil but run through the soil. Never allow 

 your plot to become sodden. Another way of keeping 

 the earth in your plot well-aired is to use plenty of 



* The food got from the air by plants of the pea flower family (legumes) 

 is nitrogen. The swellings on the roots are now dried and crushed by 

 chemists, and the dust sown in a particular way. This gives a crop of 

 millions of the germs that cause the knots. Parcels of the germs are now 

 sold in Europe and America to farmers whose soils are poor in these 

 germs. This may turn out to be one of the greatest discoveries of the 

 nineteenth century. 



