The First Book of FarmingGoodrich, C. L. (Charles Landon)
Science
The First Book of Farming
Goodrich, C. L. (Charles Landon)
Agriculture
=Experiment.=--Place some kernels of corn or other large seeds on a
plate between the folds of a piece of wet cloth. Cover with a pane of
glass or another plate. Keep the cloth moist till the seeds sprout and
the young plants have roots two or three inches long. Now have at hand
a plate, two pieces of glass, 4 by 6 inches, a piece of white cloth
about 4 by 8 inches, a spool of dark thread, and two burnt matches, or
small slivers of wood. A shallow tin pan may be used in place of the
plate. Lay one pane of glass on the plate, letting one end rest in the
bottom of the plate and the other on the opposite edge of the plate.
At one end of the piece of cloth cut two slits on opposite sides about
an inch down from the end and reaching nearly to the middle. Wet the
cloth and spread it on the glass. Take one of the sprouted seeds, lay
it on the cloth, tie pieces of thread around the main root at
intervals of one-quarter inch from tip to seed. Tie carefully, so that
the root will not be injured. Place the second pane of glass over the
roots, letting the edge come just below the seed, slipping in the
slivers of wood to prevent the glass crushing the roots. Wrap the two
flaps of the cloth about the seed. Pour some water in the plate and
leave for development. (Fig. 12.) A day or two of waiting will show
conclusively that the lengthening takes place at the tip only, or just
back of the tip. Is this fact of any value to the farmer? Yes. The
soft tender root tips will force their way through a mellow soil with
greater ease and rapidity than through a hard soil, and the more rapid
the root growth the more rapid the development of the plant. This
teaches us again the lesson of deep, thorough breaking and pulverizing
of the soil before the crop is planted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account