32 FUNDAMENTALS OF AGRICULTURE. 



Roots Should Not Be Disturbed. If the roots are 

 disturbed these delicate hairs are pulled off or broken 

 so that almost no water can be absorbed until the root 

 has formed new hairs, which may take several hours. 

 So in transplanting plants it is necessary to avoid dis- 

 turbing the roots more than can be helped, and to re- 

 move some of the leaves to check the evaporation sur- 

 face; otherwise so much water will be lost from the 



CROSS- SECTION OF ROOT. 



leaves by evaporation, before the roots are able to 

 absorb any, that the plant will die. 



Roots Search Deep for Food. In some plants the 

 distance to which the roots will go in search for water 

 and mineral food is marvelous. Alfalfa roots will 

 penetrate many feet downward while the lateral roots 

 of some trees extend a hundred feet or more from the 

 base of the trunk. 



Roots Require Oxygen. Since roots contain many 

 living cells they, too, require air so as to obtain the 

 oxygen necessary for the oxidation of the food. This 

 is obtained from the air present in the soil. If, how- 



