THE CANE 9 



and Liversedge 8 states that he has seen roots as far down as 8 or 10 feet. 

 The depth to which roots penetrate, however, depends largely on the 

 nature of the soil ; they extend furthest in light porous soil. In seasons 

 of drought the roots extend downwards following the water level ; on 

 the other hand, in fields with a sour, ill-drained subsoil, the roots after 

 penetrating downwards turn back on themselves to the upper surface 

 soil. The cane has no tap root, and its roots have comparatively little hold 

 on the soil. Fig. 8, after Agee, shows the development of the root system 

 as found on irrigated soil in the Experiment Station at Honolulu. 



c*or 



i ii 



re 



FIG. ro 



Structure of the Root. In Fig. 9 is shown to a scale of i \ the end of one 

 of the roots growing in that part of the stem of the cane below ground. 

 Towards the end of the root are seen numerous very fine hairs, and at the 

 extreme end is seen the root cap. In Figs. 10 and n are given longitudinal 

 and cross-sectional views of the root, the longitudinal view being taken 

 through the apical point ; re is the root cap, m is the layer of meristematic 

 tissue, rh root hairs formed from the piliferous layer on the extreme outer 

 layer of the root ; cor is the cortex, st the central cylinder, v a developing 

 wood vessel, and x a larger wood vessel. 



The root cap on the exterior consists of dead cells, and is continually 

 being renewed from the interior by the layer of meristematic tissue from 



