J60 



ROL 



ROO 



getation, and strengthens the stems, 

 and renders the grain more perfect. 

 When any crop of grain is sown 

 with artiticial grasses, rolhng is par- 

 ticular!) necessary, to make an 

 even surface, bruising all clods, and 

 pressing down any stones, it may 

 not be thought necessary to carry 

 off, to facilitate the future operation 

 of the scythe. Oats in a light soil, 

 may be rolled to advantage, imme- 

 diately after the seed is sown, un- 

 less the soil is so wet as to cling to 

 the roller. After turnips are sown 

 in drills, they ought immediately fo 

 be rolled ; to make the soil com- 

 pact, and to promote their speedy 

 germination. Not only for turnips, 

 but for all other crops, rolling du- 

 ring the night is found to be an ef- 

 ficient means of destroying slugs, 

 snails, the wire-worm, and other 

 vermin, so destructive to young 

 plants. Flax ought to be rolled im- 

 mediately after sowing ; it makes 

 the seed vegetate equally, and pre- 

 vents after growth ; the bad effects 

 of v/hich are visible in every step 

 o[ the process of dressing flax. 



'•The other advantages in rolling 

 arable land are, that it renders a 

 loose soil more compact and solid. 

 This encourages the growth of 

 plants, by pressing the soil to their 

 roots. It likewise keeps in moist- 

 ure and prevents drought from pen- 

 etrating. When the soil is worked 

 up lightly, moisture either filters 

 through it too quickly, or is too 

 easily evaporated. In a dry sea- 

 son this may occasion a very mate- 

 rial difference in the crop, more es- 

 pecially in a light soil. Roiling is 

 executed to most advantage, across 

 the direction of the ridges, because 



more adapted to ensure full benefit 

 to the furrows, which otherwise may 

 not be properly gone over." 



ROO rS, the parts of plants that 

 are under the surface of the earth, 

 which imbibe the nutritious juice of 

 the earth, which feeds and increa- 

 ses the plants. 



Botanists distinguish roots into 

 divers sorts, according to their dif- 

 ferent forms. But the only distinc- 

 tion to which the husbandman needs 

 to give his attention, is, to consider 

 roots as of the tap, bulbous, or fi- 

 brous kind. Of the first kind are 

 the carrot, parsnep, beet, &lc. of 

 the second, the potatoe, onion, tur- 

 nip, and several others ; of the last, 

 wheat and other kinds of grain, and 

 many grasses. 



But still there are, perhaps, but 

 few plants which have only one of 

 these kinds of roots, though the 

 form that is most obvious is the 

 one which gives the name to 

 the root. Carrots, and other 

 tap rooted plants, send out hori- 

 zontal fibres to a considerable dis- 

 tance. Trees in general have both 

 tap and fibrous roots. A turnip has 

 the three kinds of roots, having a 

 bulb, a tap, and many lateral fibres 

 from the tap. 



Mr. Mill?, on this subject says, 

 the roots that proceed immediately 

 from the seed, are always of the 

 carrot or tap kind. Tap roots 

 strike down perpendicularly into 

 the earth, till it becomes too hard 

 to admit of their farther passage ; 

 but when the soil is deep,and easily- 

 pierced, they penetrate sometimes 

 to the depth of several yards, un- 

 less they are cut or broken ; in 

 which case they alter their direc- 



