H© THE ROO:. 



point to the most effectual mode of preservation. Lei 

 the trees "mossed with age" be divested of those veg- 

 etables which rob them of their nourishment, and has- 

 ten their destruction, and they will recover their for- 

 mer health and again become vigorous and productive. 

 But there is a class of parasitic vegetables, whose 

 roots do not abstract nourishment from their support- 

 ers. One of the most extraordinary of these is the 

 Epidendrum, or Flower ofthe Air, which grows abun- 

 dantly on the banks of the Ganges. It is said to vege- 

 ate for years, hung upon the ceiling of the Indian's 

 cottage, with no other nourishment than what it derives 

 from the air ofthe room, to which its blossoms commu- 

 nicate a most delightful fragrance. 



All these varieties of roots are formed to secure the 

 same end, to fix the plant securely in the earth, to sup- 

 ply it with food, and to preserve its vital though dor- 

 mant energies, at a season when they could not be safe- 

 ly aroused into action ; and at the same time, to secure 

 its resources against the vicissitudes of moisture and 

 dryness, to which the vegetables of many countries are 

 perpetually exposed. And a small share of attention 

 to the structure and form of each variety, will enable 

 us to pursue the best mode of cultivation, and to desig- 

 nate the quality ofthe soil to which they are respec- 

 tively suited. Of those which descend deep into the 

 earth, there are several varieties, and all require to 

 have the ground deeply furrowed, before they can be 

 cultivated with advantage. Barren and thin soils are 

 best suited to the wide spreading roots, which creep 

 extensively on their surface ; dry and sandy plains are 

 adapted to those which penetrate deep for nourish- 

 ment ; and are supplied with bulbs for its preserva- 

 tion, or with downy radicles for its abundant absorp- - 



