ON THE ROOTS OF PLANTS. 79 



plant and its produce, and the constitution and 

 habits of the roots determine those of the stalk, 

 branches, and leaves ; if the roots grow luxuri- 

 antly, the branches will also. 



A variety of means have been resorted to by 

 phytologists, to discover and ascertain the con- 

 struction and principles of action of the roots 

 of plants, and as various and contradictory have 

 been their opinions and representations ; but in 

 the material point all agi'ee ; and the most mi- 

 nute examination, by the most powerful micros- 

 cope, confirms the fact, that the food of plants 

 can only be taken up by the roots in a state of 

 solution in water, or suspended in a state of di- 

 vision, so minute as to be equal to a solution. 



In a deep tenacious soil, or clay, roots can 

 only find a free passage through fissures or 

 clefts, which are formed by its occasional con- 

 traction, and as these openings are not very 

 numerous, or close together, the roots do not 

 divide much, or become fibrous, but those 

 which strike into them range wide and deep, 

 and getting beyond the general influence of the 

 sun and air, collect their food, or sap, from a 

 source ill adapted to fructification ; and, conse- 

 quently, plants under such circumstances are 

 generally found to be of a cold, aqueous, un- 

 healthy, and unproUfic nature : on the contrary, 



