70 BOAED OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



chance, some botanist should be present, he will undoubtedly 

 notice that I give expression to some things which botanists 

 do not teach; in fact, they teach precisely the opposite. 



Corn belongs to the monocotyledonous order ; that is, it has 

 only one cotyledon ; and that order, according to the bota- 

 nists, has no tap-root. And yet, if you take a kernel of corn, 

 you will find that there comes from the chit the small caulicle 

 which extends upward into the plumule and downwards into 

 a radicle, and this last goes down into the soil, proving a dis- 

 tinct tap-root. At the same time, roots start out at the junc- 

 tion of the plumule and pass into the soil, while the tap-root 

 throws out a mass of little fibers in both directions. 



I think I have made plain to you by the blackboard simply 

 the germination of the corn, and now it will be my object to 

 show how it has a bearing upon agriculture. I have dug up 

 corn plants re{)eatedly, and have invariably found certain ap- 

 pearances. Let me tell you what digging up a corn plant 

 means. It means, first, digging a trench, deeper than the 

 roots extend, alongside of the plant; it then means taking a 

 powerful garden engine, having one man at the pump and 

 another at the hose, working by the hour, yes, by the day, in 

 washing out the soil, until the roots are left suspended in the 

 air, in just the position they occupied in the soil, so that you 

 can trace each root back to the plant, and you do not con- 

 found the roots of anything else with those you are investi- 

 gating. So you see by that method we have the means of 

 getting at facts. 



Now, there was a very pleasant little occurrence in October 

 at the Experiment Station at Geneva. Dr. Gilbert, of Eng- 

 land — who, you know, is the associate of Mr. Lawes, and one 

 of the most accomplished scientific agriculturists in the 

 world — was visiting me, and I had holes dug to allow him 

 to investigate the soil; and, amoiig other things, I had a hole 

 dug in a cornfield in order to call his attention to the arrange- 

 ment of the roots. He heard the suggestion that I made, and 

 accepted it immediately, saying that he thought it was per- 

 fectly reasonable, and that it had a strong practical applica- 



