“If seeds are planted too deeply again, a tremendous piece of work is imposed upon the little plant.  To push up through, say one inch of soil, would be quite a task for a lettuce seedling.

“Finally in seed planting, the soil must be safely compacted or pressed about the seed.  The object of this is to bring in contact with all parts of the seed soil particles with their films of water.  Suppose a radish seed is planted and no soil happens to come in direct contact with the seed.  That distance, so slight to us, is a well-nigh impossible one for the rootlets to extend to.

“There is a possibility of course, of too close compacting.  This occurs when the soil is very wet.  Do not compact at all then.  In fact, such soil condition represents a very bad time for planting, anyway.  Moisture is necessary for germination, but superabundance 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.