368 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Ocr., 1901. 
instead of going downwards into the ground, makes its way through the soil 
and appears above the ground. 
Now you must try and understand that most plants derive their nourish- 
ment not only from the soil, but also from the air. The little rootlet that went 
down into the soil draws up water and other things which help to feed the 
shoot which is above the ground, whilst the upper shoot draws further nourish- 
ment from the air. How it does this you will learn in another lesson ; mean- 
while, what you have to remember is this: You have learnt so far that there 
are three parts to every plant—the seed, the rootlet that grows downwards, and 
the shoot that grows upwards. The flower and fruit we will leave to the next 
lesson. The part of the seed which effects these changes is called “the germ.” 
Every living seed hasa germ. The word “germ” is another word for life. If the 
seed is dead you will, of course, say it has no life; but if the seed is alive, it 
has within it something, and this something is called a germ. This is why we 
say a seed will germinate—that is, that it will grow. Having now learned, 1st, 
that the plants are produced from seed; 2nd, that a live seed produces the 
rootlet below the ground and the shoot above the ground; 8rd, that every 
living seed has a living germ, we can proceed to the next question, which is, 
“Why do some plants grow beautifully, and others die away before they 
produce fruit or flowers?” This question brings us to a further consideration 
of. the soil. 
You cannot now understand the difficulties connected with the soil, for the 
wisest men have spent their lives in trying to teach farmers and gardeners how 
to make the soil produce heavy crops. But this you can certainly understand. 
You know that you could not grow a crop of potatoes on an ironbark slab or 
on a smooth flat rock. Why? You will say, because there is no soil, and you 
would be quite right. But there are soils, as well as slabs and rocks, which 
will not produce any crops. Why is this? 
Every plant requires something to make it grow. In this lesson I cannot 
tell you all that is required, because I should have to use a number of hard 
words which you could not recollect, and, even if you could remember, you 
would not understand them. 
So I will explain the reason in such a way that you can quite understand it. 
You know and say that you cannot grow a crop, say of potatoes, on an 
ironbark slab, and you add that the reason is that there is no soil. So as you 
know that soil is necessary to the plant, you must learn why it is necessary. 
Perhaps you think it is because the seed must be kept moist and in the dark. 
But if that were all, you might put your seeds on a wet sponge, and shut them 
up ina box. Butif you did so you would get no plants. The seeds might 
swell and burst, and send out rootlets, but these would soon die for want of 
some other nourishment besides water. That nourishment the rootlet draws 
from the soil, and the shoot from the air; and farmers and gardeners call it 
plant food, as you learned in your first book. 
Just as you and I require food to enable us to live and become healthy and 
strong, just as much do all plants require food to enable them to grow up and 
produce fruit and flowers. But you will say, How can a plant take in food? 
It has no mouth. 
Now I will explain to you that every plant has not only a mouth but 
thousands of mouths, and every little mouth is busily engaged all day and all 
night in taking in food. How does it do this? I have already told you that 
the rootlet supplies nourishment to the green shoot above the ground. Well, 
this single rootlet is a sort of pipe which draws up moisture and sends it 
through every part of the plant. You have seen a plant on a hot day looking 
drooping and almost shrivelled. What happened when you watered that 
unhappy looking plant? In an hour or so you saw it holding up its head, and 
it changed from a thing like a limp rag into a healthy, vigorous looking plant. 
The reason was that the root sucked up the water you gave it, and that water 
soon passed up into Sea above ground and gave it new life. If you 
were lostin the bush and had been a whole day or more without water, you would 
