112 



OUR FARM CROPS. 



hairs) are seen very clearly ; and on such roots as those of 

 barley, for instance, they exist in enormous numbers/' 



The accompanying diagram, taken from Messrs. Lawes 

 and Gilbert's paper in the Royal Agricultural Society's 

 Journal, vol. xviii. p. 511, will serve to illustrate these 



Barley. 



Wheat. 



points, by showing the difference in growth between the 

 roots of wheat and barley. The seeds were planted under 

 the same conditions of soil, temperature, &c. ; and were 

 examined at the same time, when it was found the wheat 

 had thrown out such a mass of ramifications, that the 

 whole of the surface of the dish in which the pot rested 

 was covered with a thick network of rootlets, as also was 

 the bottom, and to a great extent the sides of the inside 

 of the pot itself; while the barley plant had only sent 

 down one solitary rootlet to the bottom of the pot, and 

 had carried on its growth with the materials it had been 

 able to find near the surface. 



These two facts the quantity of mineral matters 

 required by the barley plant for its growth, and the 

 great powers it possesses for rapidly absorbing th em- 

 show us how closely connected the successful cultiva 



