THE EARTH'S BOUNTY 



ward the center of the row, and passed one 

 another at a depth of only 6 inches. A third 

 sample taken when the corn was coming into 

 full tassel showed that the roots had fully oc- 

 cupied the upper 3 feet of soil in the entire 

 field, and that the surface laterals at this time 

 had risen still higher, a few of them being 

 scarcely 5 inches beneath the surface. At ma- 

 turity the roots extended fully 4 feet into 

 the soil, and the upper laterals were within 4 

 inches of the top of the ground. 



In studying the total root distribution of 

 corn from 9 to 27 days old, it was found that 

 at the end of 9 days some of the roots had ex- 

 tended laterally to a distance of 16 inches, and 

 that some had reached a depth of 8 inches. 

 The tips of the longest roots were 6 inches be- 

 low the surface, and no roots were nearer the 

 surface than 3 inches, at 6 inches from the hill. 

 Eighteen days after planting, the tips of the 

 longest roots had spread laterally to a distance 

 of 18 inches, and were 5 or more inches below 

 the surface, while the longest roots extending 



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