ROOTS 1 3 



depths of five and six feet, corn roots four and five 

 feet, parsnips over six feet. The sweet-potato roots 

 illustrated in Fig. 8 penetrated the soil to a depth of 

 over five feet. The roots of alfalfa or lucern have 

 been traced to depths of from thirteen to sixteen feet 

 or more. 



How near to the surface of the soil do you find 

 roots? Main side or lateral roots will be found 

 within two or three inches of the surface, and little 

 rootlets from these will be found reaching up as near 

 the surface as there is a supply of moisture. After 

 a continued period of wet weather, if the soil has 

 not been disturbed, roots will be found coming to 

 the very surface and even running along the top of 

 the soil. 



As to the fourth question, How far do roots 

 reach out sidewise or laterally from the plant? you 

 will find roots extending three, four, five and even 

 six or more feet from the plant. They have numer- 

 ous branches and rootlets, which fill all parts of the 

 upper soil. Tree roots have been found thirty or 

 forty feet in length. 



We started on this observation lesson to find out 

 something about the habit of growth of roots, so 

 that we could tell how the roots do their work for 

 the plant. But before going on with that question, 

 let us stop right here and see whether we cannot find 

 some very important lessons for the farmer and 

 plant grower from what we have already seen. Is a 

 knowledge of these facts we have learned about 

 roots of any value to the farmer? Let us examine 

 each case and see. 



