1 2 THE FIRST BOOK OF FARMING 



far as possible laterally and as deep as possible, 

 taking care to loosen them as little as possible from 

 their natural position. (See Figs. 8 and 9.) Hav- 

 ing exposed the roots of one kind of plant to a width 

 and depth of five or six feet, expose the roots of six 

 or eight plants of different kinds to a depth of about 

 eighteen inches. As this may require more time 

 than we can take for it in one day, it will be well 

 to cover the exposed roots with some old burlaps or 

 other material until we have them all ready, in order 

 to keep them from drying and from injury. 



When all is ready we will study the root system 

 of each plant and answer these four questions : 



In what part of the soil are most of the roots ? 



How deep do they penetrate the soil? 



How near do they come to the surface of the soil ? 



How far do they reach out sidewise or laterally 

 from the plant ? 



To the first question, " In what part of the soil 

 are most of the roots ? " you will give the follow- 

 ing answers : " In the upper layer." " In the sur- 

 face soil." " In the softer soil." " In the darker 

 soil." " In the plowed soil." 



These are all correct, but the last is the important 

 one. Most of the roots will be formed in that part 

 of the soil that has been plowed or spaded. 



The second question, " How deep do the roots 

 penetrate the soil ? " is easily answered. Roots will 

 be found penetrating the soil to depths of from two 

 to six feet or more. (See Fig. 8.) The author has 

 traced the roots of cowpea and soy bean plants to 



