2 STIRRING THE SOIL. [chap. i. 
without stirring the soil: but why the beds 
in an old garden should be always dug or 
forked over* before they are re-planted, is 
quite another question, and one that it re¬ 
quires some consideration to answer. 
When any soil, except sand or loose gra¬ 
vel, remains unstirred for any length of time, 
it becomes hard, and its particles adhere so 
firmly together as not to be separated with¬ 
out manual force. It is quite clear that when 
soil is in this state, it is unfit for the recep¬ 
tion of seeds; as the tender roots of the 
young plants will not be able to penetrate it 
through without great difficulty, and neither 
air nor water can reach them in sufficient 
quantities to make them thrive. When a 
seed is put into the ground, it is the warmth 
and moisture by which it is surrounded that 
make it vegetate. It first swells, and the 
skin with which it is covered cracks and peels 
off; then two shoots issue froifl the vital 
knot, (a point easily discoverable in large 
seeds,) one of which descends and is called 
the root, while the other ascends to form 
the leaves, stem, flowers, and fruit. 
This is what is meant by the germination 
