CHAPTER XI 



The Soil 



At first sight, what is so uninteresting as a handful of dirt ? 

 One's first idea is to throw it away and wash the hands. 



But wait a bit. What can we do without dirt ? Suppose 

 the earth were what wise men say it once was — naked 

 rock ? How clean ! We should not get dirty from it. Yet 

 about dinner time, how should we get food ? No vegetables 

 could be had, certainly. And no meat, since animals and birds 

 depend on vegetables. We would then gladly exchange our 

 nice clean rock for a few acres of good rich dirt in which 

 vegetables were growing. 



Save the handful of earth, then, and look at it respectfully. 

 Through ages it has been made from the naked rock, until 

 now it is full of life. Look, a worm is wriggling in it. Don't 

 hurt him ; he is a good friend. A beetle scuttles away from 

 it. He may be an enemy. Under the microscope we should 

 find this handful of dirt swarming with tiny living things 

 called bacteria. They do valuable work in making plants 

 grow. Keep the soil moist, put it in a warm place, and in a 

 few days we shall note the sprouting of the seeds that have 

 been concealed in it. 



This handful of earth is worth study. Let us see what we 

 can learn from it. 



Let me begin with my statement that this soil was made 

 from rock. Look at a bowlder lying in the field, the stones 

 in an old wall, or even the bricks of a very old house. The 



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