16 



THE ROOT. 



water, and prevent them from being washed away, and the 

 whole country overflown, a striking proof that these hum 

 ble, and sometimes vexatious plants, were, on the whole, cre- 

 ated with a beneficent intention to man. 



Many other plants, which in some situations, appear not 

 only useless, but pernicious, as occupying the soil, and thus 

 preventing the growth of useful plants, are, still, under other 

 circumstances, of great importance to man. Thus the trav- 

 eller Hasselquist, in his voyage to Egypt, mentions a small 

 reed, which, though of no apparent use in ordinary situations, 

 is of the highest consequence on the banks of the Nile. 

 The very soil of Egypt, says this traveller, is owing to the 

 presence of this plant, for its matted roots have stopped the 

 earth which floated in the water of that river, and thus has 

 been formed a large portion of habitable country. 



Floating plants. The roots we have heretofore described, 

 are attached to the earth, from which they draw nourishment 

 for the growth of the plants. In all plants of any considera- 

 ble size, it is obvious that this must be universally the case. 

 There are, however, some plants whose roots are not fixed to 

 any solid substance, but float in the water, from which, there- 

 fore, they must receive their nourishment. The plant called 

 Duck-Meat, (Lemna minor,) Fig. 13, 

 is of this kind. This minute plant 

 is found in ditches, with its green 

 leaves swimming on the surface of 

 the water, which it often covers in 

 patches. Its thread-like roots hang 

 suspended from the under surfaces 

 of the leaves, and this constitutes 

 the whole plant. 



There is another small plant which grows with the Duck- 

 Meat, and which, while young, has floating roots. This is 

 the Water Star grass, (Callitriche aquatica.) Before this lit- 

 tle plant flowers, its roots are suspended in the water, and 

 from which, therefore, it must draw its entire nourishment. 

 But it is a fact well known to botanists, that few plants of 

 any kind will produce perfect seeds, when nourished by wa- 

 ter alone ; and nature has made a singular and curious pro- 

 vision, with respect to this plant, on this account. After the 



In what situations are repent roots particularly useful to mankind ? 

 What is said of the use of a small reed on the banks of the Nile ? What 

 's said of floating roots ? 



Fig. 13. 



