98 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



to be dead, and henceforth serves the plant only to support the grow- 

 ing cells, and enabling them to continue the growth of the plant as a 

 whole. Every part of a plant — roots, stems, leaves and fruit — is thus 

 composed of cells, and grows only as the cells increase in number- 

 When a plant or its fruit grows fast, we may be sure that this cell mul- 

 tiplication is going on very rapidly; but when growth is slow, we know 

 that the cells, either from want of nourishment or vital energy, are 

 increasing but slowly. 



THE ROOTS. 



When a seed sprouts, the first thing it does is to put forth a root 

 for the purpose of absorbing water and other mineral matter neces- 

 sary for the further development of the plant. This root pushes itself 

 into the soil by cell-multiplication at its tip, and gets thicker by new 

 layers all around it. We thus see that the root extends itself into the 

 soil with an almost irresistible force, and is able to penetrate hard sub- 

 stances, that it never could penetrate if it grew from behind and pushed 

 itself forward as the nails of our fingers do. This mode of growth also 

 makes the soil tightly packed around the entire root surface, even to 

 the minutest fibers, and thus enables them readily to absorb such nour- 

 ishment as the soil may contain for the plant. The power to absorb is- 

 greatest in the small root fibers, or spongioles as they are called, and 

 gradually diminishes as the roots grow older and thicker. Xow, when 

 we remove a plant from the soil we break off thousands of these spon- 

 gioles, no matter how much care we may take or how much we believe 

 in the whole root theory ; and thus the power of the plant to absorb is 

 greatly diminished. When we place it in to the soil again, we are un- 

 able to make the soil come in such close contact with the roots as it 

 was when the roots had extended themselves into the soil by their 

 growth; but this may be done to a certain extent by having the soil 

 well pulverized, and then pouring water around the plant immediately 

 after it has been set in the pulverized soil. This will cause the soil to 

 settle around the roots, though the roots will not press against it until 

 they resume their growth. As we are thus unable to keep up the ab- 

 sorbing power of the roots in transplanting, we should as much as pos- 

 sible diminish the need for it by covering the plant with large leaves or 

 pieces of cloth, etc., during the day, until they have put forth new spon- 

 gioles, and the soil has settled close around the roots. How often 

 have I seen a lot of plants newly set out and exposed to the heat of 

 the weather to such an extent as to put them back two or three weeks, 

 or even permanently injure their vital energy, when close by grew an 

 abundance of large dock leaves to cover them. The best time for trans- 



