52 (ilJMI'SES IXTO Pr.AXT-UFE 



fields by thorough drainage and ploughing. Roots 

 adapt themseh'es \er)' wonderfully to their situa- 

 tion. 



This jjiece of grass, which we are examining, 

 if it grew in sanch' soil, would have its root-fibres 

 covered with a downy growth to enable them the 

 more readily to absorb every particle of moisture 

 in the sand. Dr. Bonar speaks of the date-palm 

 as having this same characteristic. " These palm 

 roots are peculiarly fitted to obtain every drop of 

 water that the sand contains ; they consist of long 

 fleshy strings or ropes, shooting straight down 

 into the sand, in numbers quite beyond our 

 reckoning, and extending over a large circle." 



The tendency of fibrous roots to bind sand 

 together is taken advantage of on many of our 

 sea-coasts, where the sand blows inland and 

 renders acres of ground sterile and useless. 

 There, if the Carex arenaria (a kind of sedge) is 

 planted, its roots will spread far and wide, inter- 

 lacing and creeping through the sandy soil, until 

 in time the latter becomes solid and no longer 

 drifts inland. 



i\w allied species of grass, Psamma arruaria for 



