HOW PLANTS FEED 



' x f. \ 





so tiny are they as many as 38,200 have been counted on a 

 single inch. 



The large, coarse roots with which you are so familiar 

 have nothing to do with absorbing plant food from the 

 soil. They serve merely to conduct the 

 sap and nourishment from the root hairs 

 to the body of the plant. Since the root 

 hairs are formed only very near the tips of 

 the finest roots, it follows that plant feed- 

 ing takes place some distance from the 

 spot out of which the plant itself grows. 

 In applying manure or other fertilizer to 

 trees and plants, it is well to remember 

 this fact : get the food as near the feeding 

 roots as possible, rather than near the 

 trunk or stem. 



Roots take nourishment by osmosis. 

 It matters not how closely you examine 

 root hairs, you will find no pores or holes 

 in them. It is evident, therefore, that no 

 solid particles can find their way into the 

 root hairs: food in solution, only, can pass 

 into the root. The law governing this 

 principle is known as osmosis. You can 

 readily understand the action of this law 

 by a simple experiment: Take a glass tube 

 or small lamp chimney and tightly fasten 

 over one end a bladder or a piece cut from 

 one. After the bladder has been securely 

 fastened, pour into the tube or lamp chim- 

 ney a small quantity of molasses; now place this in a 

 jar of water, so held that the level of the molasses inside 

 and the water outside will be the same. Fasten the tube 

 in this position and observe from time to time for three 



OATS 



These roots do 

 not g;o very 

 deep into the 

 soil 



