JANUARY , 285 



plows when the plants are asleep and will 

 not be hurt by the process. The sod on the 

 top of the bank is lifted up on tall needles of 

 'ice. If you walk on the turf your foot sinks 

 an inch or so at every step, and the crack- 

 ling of the crystals tells what has given way. 

 In the soil, thus opened up during the winter 

 by the frost, this work of the bacteria is 

 ready to go on with vigor as soon as warm 

 weather comes. Earlier than this the plant 

 could not use the material. Nature makes 

 her fertilizers just when she needs them. 



It is the moisture that is deep in the 

 ground that really serves the needs of the 

 plants. Rain for the leaves is not of nearly 

 so much moment. So it behooves Nature 

 to see that this water does not needlessly 

 evaporate. Any housewife who has left 

 uncapped the lamp beneath her chafing- 

 dish knows how soon the alcohol will have 

 evaporated. If the top of the wick were 

 more loosely braided and had larger air 

 spaces in it, this work would be slower. 

 But a lamp is intended to evaporate its burn- 

 ing fluid rapidly. When not in use such a 



