Roof -pruning. 279 



hesitation in doing so, for the roots are deep enough 

 to escape the plow if the plowman is ordinarily 

 careful about the trees. 



It is not necessarily a misfortune to cut the 

 smaller roots of plants with the plow, providing 

 only a few are cut in any year. In other words, 

 it is no doubt safer to sever a good many roots a 



Fig. 41. A broken grape root sending out branches. 



half inch, or sometimes even an inch, in diameter, 

 than not to plow the orchard at all. The severed 

 roots generally send out numerous branches near 

 their ends, and these branches increase the forag- 

 ing power of the root in soil which is normally laid 

 under small tribute. Figs. 41 and 42 are drawn 

 from actual specimens of roots which were broken 

 by the plow. It would seem as if the absorbing 



