living, growing things, and certain requirements or conditions are
necessary for their growth and development; we cannot intelligently
prepare the soil for plant growth until we know something about the
work of plants and the conditions they need to do their work well.

For our first study of plants let us get together a number of farm and
garden plants. Say, we have a corn plant, cotton, beet, turnip,
carrot, onion, potato, grass, geranium, marigold, pigweed, thistle, or
other farm or garden plants. In each case get the entire plant, with
as much root as possible. Do these plants in any way resemble one
another? All are green, all have roots, all have stems and leaves,
some of them have flowers, fruit, and seeds, and the others in time
will produce them.

Why does the farmer raise these plants? For food for man and animals;
for clothing; for ornamental purposes; for pleasure, etc.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--SPECIMEN PLANTS FOR STUDY.]

[Illustration: FIG. 2.
The first effort of a sprouting seed is to send a root down into the
soil.]

[Illustration: FIG. 3.
Germinating seeds produce roots before they send a shoot up into the
air.]

Which part of any or all of these farm plants is of greatest
importance to the plant itself?