GENERAL REQUIRE MENTS. 5 



The diagrams on pages 4a and 46 show numbers and positions 

 of secondary roots of the above tree in 3 feet wide and 7 feet deep 

 sections of the soil at the undernoted distances away from the 

 tree. 



About 75 to 80 per cent, of the roots of this tree descended from 

 the stem at an angle of 55 degrees or over from the horizontal, 

 and, as will be seen from the above table and diagrams, did not 

 extend beyond a radius of 6. feet from the tree trunk. They 

 ended at depths from 4 to 8j feet. The uppermost of the 20 to 

 25 per cent, approximately which extended to greater distances 

 from the tree started from the stem at angles less than 20 degrees 

 from the horizontal and usually bent sharply down near 

 their extremities. The spreading roots rapidly decreased in 

 number as the distance from the tree increased, and on the side 

 of the tree facing parallel to the water channel there were only 

 8 per cent, of the whole at a distance of 10 J feet away from 

 the parent stem. 



On the side facing the water channel 12 per cent, were found 

 at 10J feet distance from the tree. Apparently the roots were 

 attracted by the soakage water from the channel. The deepest of 

 the roots descended to 7 feet, but the majority of them ended 

 at depths of 2 to 6 feet. 



The same general arrangement of roots was found in other 

 date trees examined. Obviously the roots which spread more 

 or less horizontally are of very great use in preventing the 

 trees from being overturned by winds. Some of these were 

 traced to over 30 feet from the parent tree. The fact that 

 a very large proportion of the roots only spread to a distance 

 of a few feet from the stems explains why considerable crops 

 of fruits can be got even when the trees are grown very close 

 together, as they usually are in date-growing regions, and as 

 far as the root-system is concerned, it seems to indicate 

 that if only dates were grown a full return would not be got 

 from the land, if the trees were planted further apart than 

 20 feet. 



