lots of soaked seeds of each kind, one of which has soaked twenty-four
hours and the other two hours. Now take these seeds from the water and
dry the surplus water from them by gently patting or rubbing a few at
a time in the folds of a piece of cloth, taking care not to break the
skin or outer coating of the seed. Place them in dry bottles, putting
in enough to cover the bottoms of the bottles about three seeds deep;
cork the bottles. If you cannot find corks, tie paper over the mouths
of the bottles. Label the bottles "Seeds soaked 24 hours," "Seeds
soaked 2 hours," and let them stand in a warm place several days. If
there is danger of freezing at night, the bottles of seeds may be kept
in the kitchen or living room where it is warm, until they sprout.

Observe the seeds from day to day. The seeds that soaked twenty-four
hours will sprout readily (Fig. 36), while most, if not all, of those
that soaked only two hours will not sprout. Why is this? It is because
the two-hour soaked seeds do not receive sufficient moisture to carry
on the process of sprouting.

Our experiment teaches us that seeds will not sprout until they
receive enough moisture to soak them through and through.

This also teaches that when we plant seeds we must so prepare the soil
for them and so plant them that they will be able to get sufficient
moisture to sprout.

=Experiment.=--Soak some beans, peas or corn, twenty-four hours;
carefully dry them with a cloth. In one half-pint bottle place enough
of them to cover the bottom of the bottle two or three seeds deep;
mark this bottle A. Fill another bottle two-thirds full of them and
mark the bottle B (Fig. 37). Cork the bottles and let them stand for