ROOTS OF PLANTS. 83 
again, unless the prisoner is first set free; and so 
powerful is the grasp by which it is held, that it re- 
quires considerable force to liberate it. The plant 
cannot, however, discriminate between the touch of a 
straw and the tickling of a bee, as the effect of either 
is the same. 
The peculiarity of the roots of different plants is 
as noticeable as that of the leaves and flowers; and 
although they possess nothing that is attractive to 
the eye, they are nevertheless essential to the exist- 
ence of the plant. 
They have been, for the most part, placed by the 
Creator below the surface of the ground, yet they 
are not to be entirely lost sight of on this account. 
Let us learn from them not to despise those whose 
circumstances in life are apparently beneath our own, 
but ever remember that the proud and majestic oak, 
that waves its tall summit in the breeze, uncon- 
scious of the root that bears it, is none the less de- 
pendent on that root for its safety in the storm. 
All plants have either annual, biennial, or peren- 
nial roots. Annuals are such as continue but one 
year, the plant reproducing its species by seed ; bien- 
nials are such as spring from the seed, forming a 
plant during the first year which does not mature its 
seed until the second season ; and perennials are such 
as live for an unlimited length of time, making fresh 
growth and producing seed each year. 
The most common form of roots is fibrous; these 
are divided and subdivided into minute filaments 
which often penetrate the soil toa great distance. It 
