xii INTRODUCTION. 



that when a seed is put into the ground and loosely 

 covered with light, dry soil, it does not come in con- 

 tact with sufficient moisture to soften its outer coat- 

 ing, neither is there sufficient heat, because of the 

 too great circulation of air around the seed, to pro- 

 duce the chemical changes upon which vegetable 

 growth depends. 



Again, when we place a seed into the earth it 

 immediately commences growth — ^when the condi- 

 tions are favorable — in two opposite directions, 

 upward into the atmosphere and downward into the 

 earth, the two sources from which it obtains its food. 

 It is a mistake to suppose that the first root the seed 

 puts forth furnishes the young plant with food — it 

 does not ; it simply holds the plant in place until the 

 true roots, by which the plant is fed, are formed. 

 The first, or seed leaves, contain the food for the 

 infant plant, to nourish it until its true leaves and 

 roots are formed, and do not perform any of the 

 functions of the plant. 



The feeding roots of any plant or tree are deli- 

 cate white fibers, so small as rarely to be seen with 

 the naked eye, and are never seen by the casual ob- 

 server. Now, when these roots are formed, if the 

 soil is not pressed firmly around the main root, these 

 feeders have nothing to live upon; they must come 

 in immediate contact with moisture, or the warm, 

 drj' air will destroy them, and the whole plant will 

 stand still until new roots are formed, or in the 

 meantime perish. -Hence the necessity of pressing 

 the soil firmly around the seeds. 



In thinning out the young plants, where the 

 seed has been sown too thickly, the work should not 

 be long deferred, but done before the second pair of 



