THE FARMER AT HOME. 35! 



the earth. Like the stem to which it is attached, the former is composed 

 of concentric circles corresponding to the age of the tree, and contains 

 the same vessels which pervade the other parts of the vegetable texture ; 

 but the extreme radicles are always of annual growth, and the deli- 

 cacy of their texture renders it difficult to transplant vegetables after 

 they are formed. The proper period, therefore, to remove trees and 

 shrubs, is late in autumn, after the radicles have ceased to absorb 

 moisture from the earth, or in the spring, before a new system of ab- 

 sorbents is formed. It may be done with safety in mid-winter, when 

 the whole energies of the vegetable are torpid, but during the season 

 of vegetation, which requires the constant abstraction of nutriment 

 from the earth, it is a work of more difficulty and danger. 



The analogy between the ascending stem and the branching root, 

 is more close and better established, than at first view we should be 

 prepared to expect, and their only difference is derived from the dif- 

 ferent organs with which they are connected. This is established by 

 an experiment which has frequently been performed, and may with- 

 out difficulty be repeated. A shrub was bent to the horizon in such 

 a manner that half of its branches were covered with earth, and a 

 similar proportion of its roots were exposed to the action of air and 

 light, without any protection but that of a thin coat of moss, which 

 was removed in a few days. In this position the shrub remained for 

 a considerable while, after which the remainder of the stem was 

 buried beneath, and the whole root raised about the surface of the 

 ground. Thus reversed, it continued to grow, the former roots being 

 crowned with leaves, and in a few years decorated with flowers, while 

 the former branches put forth radical fibres, whereby the shrub de- 

 rived its nourishment from the earth. 



Bulbs are by some writers classed with roots, while others regard 

 them as an interesting variety of subterranean bud. Certain it is 

 that they enclose the embryo of future plants, till the period of their 

 evolution arrives, and in this respect they perform the office of buds. 

 Many of them are also composed of concentric scales, nearly allied to 

 those which secure the tender leaves and flowers of northern trees, 

 from the cold of the winter to which they are exposed. But it is 

 equally true they bear a close analogy to the tuberous root, and what- 

 ever opinions we adopt respecting their nature and rank, whether we 

 class them with roots or with buds, the plants to which they are 

 attached will always be regarded with peculiar interest. They are 

 amongst the earliest harbingers of spring, and certainly the most 

 splendid ornaments of the garden. Among them are the lily, snow- 

 drop, tulip, hyacinth, with about forty more interesting plants, equally 

 deserving the fostering care of the cultivator. 



All these varieties of roots are formed to secure the same end, to 

 fix the plant securely in the earth, to supply it with food, and to pre- 

 serve its vital though dormant energies, at a season when they could 



