THE ROOT 79 



which, according to circumstances, perish to the det- 

 riment of the harvest or develop into roots and pro- 

 mote the growth of more ears of grain. Let us 

 suppose wheat has been sown in the autumn. In 

 that cold and rainy season vegetation is slow, the 

 stalk grows but little, and the various buds remain 

 very close together almost on a level with the ground. 

 But if they are favored by having damp soil near 

 them, these buds send forth adventitious roots which 

 nourish them directly and promote a fullness of 

 growth that the ordinary root by itself could not 

 have secured. Thus stimulated by nourishment, 

 these buds develop into so many wheat-stalks, each 

 one ending at a later period in an ear of grain. But 

 if wheat is sown in the spring, its rapid growth un- 

 der the influence of mild weather brings the buds too 

 high for them to send out roots. The stalk then 

 remains single. In the first case from one grain of 

 wheat sown there springs a cluster of stalks pro- 

 ducing as many ears ; in the second case the harvest 

 is reduced to its lowest terms: from one grain of 

 wheat one stalk, one ear. Hence this development 

 of the lower buds of cereals is of the greatest im- 

 portance. To obtain it, or, in agricultural terms, 

 to make the wheat send up suckers, the lower buds 

 must send down adventitious roots, as they will do 

 if they are brought into contact with the soil. To 

 this end, shortly after germination a wooden roller 

 is passed over the field, and this roller, without 

 bruising the young stalks, pushes them deeper into 

 the ground." 



