10 



THE GUIDE TO iNATURE 



example, the climbing" bean and the hop 

 have slender stems which wind about 

 stronger plants, while the pea, the 

 grape and other vines support them- 

 selves by tendrils. 



The stems which wind about the 

 supporting object are, in nearly all 

 cases, characterized by the fact that all 

 stems of a given species wind in a 

 single direction. Thus, the morning 

 glory winds always from the left to the 

 right as it ascends, while the stem of 

 the hop as it ascends winds to the left. 

 Such twining stems are said to be 

 voluble. 



If the stem of the morning glory, the 

 bean or the hop finds no other support 

 about which to wind, it seeks a neigh- 

 boring stem and the two wind about 

 each other and thus, in some measure, 

 form mutual support. 



There are also some pretty clear 

 groupings in the form and arrangement 

 of roots. Thus we have the pivotal 

 root of the carrot, the tap root, and the 

 fascicular roots of grass. 



X'oluble roots, twining roots, are so 

 rare that I have thought it worth while 

 to show a photograph of a pair in 

 which the twining is as regular and as 

 perfect as it would be found between 

 two stems of any twining plant. 



The photograph of the specimen here 

 shown is that of a parsnip. Dining re- 

 cently with a lady in New Haven, I 

 observed the specimen arranged as an 

 object of interest in the fruit dish. The 

 lady kindly gave it to me and I am in 

 turn presenting its picture to the read- 

 ers of The Guide to Nature. 



It will he seen that the tap root of 

 the parsnip divides near its origin into 

 two roots and that these two branches 

 at once assume the nature of twiners 

 and continue this characteristic to the 

 end. The thickness of the root before 

 division is two and one-eighth inches 

 and the length of the specimen is nine 

 and one fourth inches. There are ten 

 full turns of each of the members. 



Very rarely do roots assume the 

 voluble character and only in rarest in- 

 stances do we find so perfect a twining 

 as is here shown. 



It might be easy to understand why 

 weak stems should acquire the twining 

 character but it would be difficult to 

 guess why these deeply penetrating 

 roots should assume the habit of 

 twiners unless in imitation of above 

 ground voluble stems. 



[By a curious coincidence, just be- 

 fore your letter was received, there 

 came from the kitchen of my home a 

 similarly entwined carrot. A photo- 

 graph of this was taken and is shown 

 herewith.— E. F. B.] 



The knowledge of an unlearned man 

 is living and luxuriant like a forest, but 

 covered with mosses and lichens, and for 

 the most part inaccessible and going to 

 waste; the knowledge of the man of sci- 

 ence is like timber collected in yards for 

 public works, which still supports a green 

 sDrout here and there, but even this is 

 liable to drv rot. — Thoreau. 



"HE ENTWINED CARROT. 



Several different scholars have re- 

 cently expressed the opinion that the 

 Tree of Life of the Garden of Eden, 

 mentioned in the early parts of Gene- 

 sis, is the date palm. 



