=Experiment.=--Carefully loosen the cork in bottle B (the bottle containing poorly sprouted seeds), light a match, remove the cork from the bottle and introduce the lighted match. The match will stop burning as soon as it is held in the bottle, because there is no fresh air in the bottle to keep the match burning. Test bottle A in the same way. What has become of the fresh air that was in the bottles when the seeds were put in them? The seeds have taken something from it and have left bad air in its place; they need fresh air to help them sprout, but they have not sprouted so well in bottle B because there was not fresh air enough for so many seeds. The seeds in the water do not sprout because there is not enough air in the water. Now try another experiment. [Illustration: FIG. 36. To show that seeds need water for germination. The beans in bottle _A_ were soaked 2 hours, those in bottle _B_ were soaked 24 hours. They were then removed from the water and put into dry bottles.] [Illustration: FIG. 37. To show that seeds need air for germination. The beans in both bottles were soaked 24 hours, and then were put into dry bottles Bottle _A_ contained sufficient air to start the few seeds. Bottle _B_ had not enough. The water in the tumbler _C_ did not contain sufficient air for germination. See experiment, page 72.] [Illustration: FIG. 38. To show that seeds need air for germination. Corn planted in puddled clay in tumbler _A_ could not get sufficent air for sprouting. The moist sand in tumbler _B_ admitted sufficient air for germination.] =Experiment.=--Fill some tumblers or teacups or tin cans with wet sand and others with clay that has been wet and then thoroughly stirred till it is about the consistency of cake batter or fresh mixed mortar. Take a tumbler of the wet sand and one of the wet clay and plant two or three kernels of corn in each, pressing the kernels down one-half or three-quarters of an inch below the surface; cover the seeds and carefully smooth the surface. In other tumblers plant peas, beans, and other seeds. Cover the tumblers with saucers, or pieces of glass or board to keep the soil from drying. Watch them for several days. If the clay tends to dry and crack, moisten it, fill the cracks and smooth the surface. The seeds in the sand will sprout but those in the clay will not (see Fig. 38). Why is this? Water fills the small spaces between the particles of clay and shuts out the fresh air which is necessary for the sprouting of the seeds. This teaches us that when we plant seeds we must so prepare the soil, and so plant the seeds that they will get enough fresh air to enable them to sprout, or, in other words, the soil must be well ventilated.