88 Gardening 
root hairs that form, noting their number and size. On what 
part of the root are they actively growing? On what part are 
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Fic. 51. Experiment to show the power of different soils to hold capillary 
water. 
they dying? Describe a root hair. How do these root hairs 
increase the total amount of root surface? How does this affect 
the power of the plant to absorb water? 
2. To show the upward movement of capillary water in soil. 
Tie a piece of thin cotton cloth securely over the large end of a 
lamp chimney. Fill with dry garden soil. Place in a shallow 
dish containing a pint of water and leave thus until the following 
day. How high does the free water rise? How high does the 
capillary water rise? How can it be kept from evaporating from 
the surface of the soil? 
Now carefully lift the chimney with contents, allowing the free 
water, if there is any, to drain back into the dish. Measure 
the amount of water left in the dish. How much water has moved 
up into the soil as capillary water? 
During dry weather is there an upward movement of water 
from the deeper parts of the soil? 
3. To compare the power of different soils to hold capillary water. 
Tie thin cotton cloth over the small end of four lamp chimneys. 
Fill one with sand, one with clay, one with humus, and one with 
loam (all dry and finely powdered). Arrange as shown in Figure 
