rabundance of water is fatal. It
is simply ideal when after a planting a gentle rain comes--germination.

"I remember once seeing a garden which school children had planted so
close to the surface that after a rain most of the seeds were lying all
sprouted on the surface of the soil. Take care not to plant in such a
manner.

"This talk has been largely for the purpose of bringing to your minds
certain necessary points. Let me sum them up: Cheap seed are expensive
because they are often full of impurities and lack vital power. Buy
good seed and test _them_. Plant large seed, because the storage of food
is greater. Make the soil conditions right in order to give every help
to the seed. Plant neither too deep, nor too near the surface. Compact
the soil, and so aid germination. The first start of work must be right;
otherwise, trouble comes."

IV

THE PLANT ITSELF

"To think of a plant as a breathing, growing thing is wonderful, but it
is far more wonderful to think of it as something possible for even boys
and girls to train and improve. Here is a bed of petunias, let us say;
do you know just how it is possible to have larger, finer petunias next
year?

"A slight operation performed, and behold magic has been worked!

"First, we will go over the life history of a plant, and then I'll tell
you of this magic and how to work it. Or better yet my assistants here,
Josephine, Miriam and Ethel, will do the trick.

"A plant really goes through much the same operations in life as does an
animal. Only to be sure, these operations are performed in a rather
different way. A plant has a digestive, or feeding, system, a breathing
apparatus, the power to rid itself of waste and to make seed; it moves,
and it grows, too. Philip looked a bit skeptical when I said it moves.
Well, it does. Of course, a plant does not walk about, and move from
spot to spot. But a plant can and does move. Why it can turn itself
around back to, even. Just look at my geranium slips there! they seem to
be breaking their backs to peep out of the window and look at their best
friend, the sun. Turn all of them around, George. See, they face us now!
remember to look at them next Friday.

"But to start over again. A plant has just three necessary and important
parts: these parts are the roots, stem, and leaves. No, Elizabeth, the
fruit and flowers are not separate parts. Why? Well, merely because by
some queer provision of the plant world, the leave