Q6 OF THE ROOT, 



it is more or less dangerous, or even fatal, to remove 

 them. Very young annual plants, as they form new 

 fibres with great facility, survive transplantation tolera- 

 bly well, provided they receive abundant supplies of wa- 

 ter by the leaves till the root has recovered itself. 



Botanists distinguish several different kinds of roots, 

 which are necessary to be known, not only for botanical 

 purposes, but as being of great importance in agricul- 

 ture and gardening. The generality of roots may be 

 arranged under the following heads. 



1. Radix fibrosa, fig. 5. A Fibrous Root. The most 

 simple in its nature of all, consisting only of fibres, 

 either branched or undivided, which convey nourish- 

 ment directly to the basis of the stem or leaves. 

 Many grasses, as Poa annua, Engl. Bot. t. 1141, and 

 the greater part of annual herbs, have this kind of root. 

 The radical fibres of grasses that grow in loose sand 

 are remarkably downy, possibly for the purpose of 

 fixing them more securely to so slippery a support, or 

 to multiply the surface or points of absorption in so 

 mea2:re a source of nutriment. The fibres of some 

 parasitical plants already alluded to, particularly of 

 the beautiful genus Epidendrum, are peculiarly thick 

 and fleshy, not only for the purpose of imbibing the 

 more nourishment, but also to bind them so strongly 

 to the branches of trees, as to defy the force of winds 

 upon their large and rigid leaves. 



2. Radix repens, f. (S. A Creeping Root, as in Mint, 

 Mentha. A kind of subterraneous stem, creeping, 



