374 



FA RM ERS' REGISTER. 



No. 6 



food ; and becomes perinani'ntly fixed. Soon af- 

 ter lliis, the ascen{lin^s|jroul climbs upward, peeps 

 out of ilarknesff, and is l.rouirht into Ijirht and liH^; 

 expanding and enlar>rinij until there is a tidl dove- 

 lopement ol' all its parts. The younii; germ or 

 eaibryo, is in contact with one or more lobes of 

 nutritive matter, yielding food (or the infant plant, 

 until its tender root is sufficiently large and strong, 

 to go ill search of aliment. This nutritive or lari- 

 naceous matter, is entirely absorbed by the plant, 

 during the first period of its growth. 



The iorm, size and color of seeds, are so va- 

 rious, that I shall not attempt to describe them ; 

 eoine are extremely small, others large, having a 

 great variety of form, size and color. Many are 

 found on the spot where they grew, and become 

 food for man and other animals. Some are driven 

 by currents of water in various directions ; while 

 others take wing, and fly (rom one situation to an- 

 other. The great aerial ocean, that surrounds 

 this earth, is filletl with minute seeds, which are 

 perhaps wafted from continent to continent; those 

 that are heavy become saturated with water, return 

 to the earth, and as soon as they find a matrix, 

 s|)ring into life, run tiieir course and rot. If large 

 trunks of mahogany, palm nuts, &c., are driven 

 from the gulf of Mexico, by marine currents, to 

 the coasts of Ireland and Norway, I see no cause 

 (0 prevent the finer downy seeds from being wafted 

 on the wings of the wind across the Atlantic 

 Ocean. There is a singular circumstance in the 

 history of seeds, viz., they are said to remain 

 i'or ages, in a state of preservation ; the different 

 kinds of plants that occasionally visit us, favor 

 such an opinion. In our Ibrest plant beds, we fre- 

 quently observe a new set of plants, diflering in 

 genera and species from those in l lie neighbor- 

 hood ; and I think it probable Ibrest seeds lie dor- 

 mant under the earili and leaves, retaining their 

 vitality, and may be made to germinate f)y expo- 

 sing them to the ac'ion of light and air.' Seeds 

 are said by botanists to be the essence of the fruit 

 of vegetables. Linnaeus denominates seeds to be 

 the deciduous parts of the plants, containing the 

 rudiments of new organization, lerlilized by the 

 male dust. 



Plants are furnished with one seed, or with two, 

 three, (ijur, five, six or many: the lecundity of 

 plants is often astonishing. A single plant of' to- 

 bacco, is said to produce 500,000 seeds; and a 

 single stalk of spleen-wort one million. If these 

 two plants could multiply and beget their like Ufi- 

 molested and undiminished for twenty years, and 

 every plant during that period retain its org:,mi/,.i 

 tion entire, so that there could be a fuirevoliiiion 

 and developemcnl of every plant ; ;i mass of tobac- 

 co and spleen-wort, in all probability, would be 

 formed, equal in bulk to this earth. This may be 

 considered a novel opinion ; but wise philosophers 

 have said that a single herring, if suffered to 

 spawn and multiply, under favorable circum- 

 stances, would form a mass as large as this earth in 

 fifteen years. 



The mot. — The root is the first part produced 

 by a germinating embryo ; and its presence is ne- 

 cessary to most plants. Some plants feed from 

 the atmosphere. The dodder, or love vine, entwines 

 various grasses and weeds, and would seem to ex- 

 ist without roots ; it is, however, propagated from 

 seeds deposited in (he earth, and as soon as the 

 plant begins to feed from the atmosphere, the 



commimicaiion between the earth and dodder is 

 cut off, and the root dies. When the primitive 

 root enters the soil, it gives off small fibres from 

 the end and along its sides; these end and side 

 roots (rive oil branches m like manner, until by re- 

 peated division and sub-division they are all ex- 

 panded and cnlarired. They serve to fix and hold 

 plants to the soil from which they imbibe nourish- 

 ment throuLzh their porous and elementary tubes. 

 A root is semi-annual, annual, biennial, and peren- 

 nial. Semi-annual and annual plants live but one 

 season, as many kinds of grass, oats, &c. Bien- 

 nial roots survive one winter, as clover, wheat, 

 rye, &c., and perish the following summer after 

 perfecting their seeds. Perennial roots are such 

 as remain and produce blossoms and seeds for 

 many years. The body of a root is denominated 

 the cordex, and the fibrous part the radicular. It 

 is highly necessary that we should be well ac- 

 quainted with the various kinds of roots, for they 

 differ verj'^ widely in their nature and (unctions. 

 Fibrous roots, particularly those near the surface, 

 recpiire a constant accession of moisture, while 

 those of the more fleshy kind most powerfully re- 

 sist drouiiht. and are reservoirs of the vital ener- 

 gies of filants. 



Roots are distinguished as follows: 1st, A 

 fibrous root, as in many kinds of grasses and 

 grain. 2nd, A creeping root, as in weeds. 3rd, 

 A spindle-shaped, or tap roof, as in cotton, car- 

 rots, and radish. 4th, A stumped root, as in 

 many kinds of plants. 5th, A tuberous root, or 

 knobbed root, as in the potato. 6th, A bulbous 

 root ; this is a subterraneous bud, being solid, as in 

 the crocus, ternicate. as in the onion, or scaly, as 

 in the lily. 7ih, A granulated root. 8th, The 

 extended root, as in forest trees. There are some 

 remarkable circumstances recorded respecting the 

 longevitj' of roots. It is well authenticated that 

 theroots of some trees, when grubbed up, were 

 found fresh and sound, though the tree had been 

 felled many years. The larger roots of plants, 

 trees, &c., have a triple office to perfornij^viz., they 

 act as supporters and feeders, and give off stems ; 

 whereas the smaller roots, are most actively em- 

 ployed in supporting the plant with nutritive mat- 

 ter. The ends of young roots are extremely soft, 

 tender and delicate, and cannot bear the action of 

 light and air: hence their downward direction at 

 first, but as soon as they gain strength, they change 

 this direction, and climb up near the surface in or- 

 der to breathe. They travel a considerable dis- 

 tance in search of food ; the Indian corn extends 

 its roofs to the distance of ten or twelve feet; and 

 Ibrest trees, such as the oak, poplar and pine, run 

 out their roots to the distance of 75 yards. All 

 roots are said to be choice in their selection of 

 food, for they are known to creep aside and avoid 

 bad earth, in order to approach good. Whoever 

 has attended, in the slightest degree, to the deve- 

 lopement of plants, must have observed that as 

 soon as the little germ commences its course in 

 life, it has two opposite directions ; one perpendic- 

 ularly upward, and the other immediately down- 

 ward. There is a line of demarkation between 

 the ascending and descending members which 

 seems peculiarly organized. Whatever enlarge- 

 ment, division or sub-division, takes place in the 

 first Plage of life, below this line or point, are roots, 

 which descend ; and wiiafever is above, are shoots 

 and sprouts, and rise into the air. Tliis point 



