UTAH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 65 
THE EFFECT OF SOIL MOISTURE ON THE MOR- 
PHOLOGY OF CERTAIN PLANTS. 
By F. S. HARRIS. 
(Summary. ) 
Experiments reported gave the following conclusions: 
The number of stomata was decreased and the number 
of small hairs increased on the leaves of corn by increasing 
the soil moisture. 
Corn, wheat, and peas growing a number of weeks in 
sand containing different amounts of moisture showed a 
proportionately greater root growth in the drier sand. 
Corn grown in glass tubes 75 days showed a relatively 
greater root growth where the level of free water was a 
considerable distance below the surface. 
Different roots of the same corn plant grown in very 
wet and in moist sand showed a greater root growth with 
the lower amount of water. 
Tests with corn and wheat showed that the ratio of tops 
to roots was affected by soil moisture even during the 
germination stage. 
Wheat harvested at different stages showed relatively 
more roots during early stages of plant growth than later. 
Wheat grown to maturity showed a greater relative 
root growth with low than with high soil moisture, and the 
moisture during the early stages of growth had the great- 
est influence on that ratio. 
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