THE NEW EARTH 



supplied with a cap, or sheath, for service in 

 pushing out into the earth region around, in 

 search of water and nutriment, and yet so deli- 

 cately supplied with what we might call nerves 

 that it instantly detects an obstacle it cannot 

 penetrate and goes around it. It has power as 

 well as persistence, too, and a single tiny root 

 end forcing its way through the earth exerts a 

 power equal to three hundred pounds pressure 

 per square inch. Like the man, it does not 

 give up until it reaches its desired end. 



The root-system of the plant has been called 

 very fittingly its anchorage, since it not only is 

 constantly being extended as the plant seeks 

 more food, but serves as an anchor to hold 

 the plant in place upon the earth. It also 

 serves as a storage place for food for the plant, 

 laid up for future use. The ramifications of 

 the roots of plants naturally vary, but a single 

 squash seed has developed a plant having roots 

 several thousand feet in length. Instinctively 

 the roots turn away from the light. Their 

 work, like that of the bacteria in the nodules 

 of the clover, can best be carried on in utter 

 darkness. The value of a root as a storage 

 reservoir cannot well be better shown than in 



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