AT 
PART IL. 
THE ESSENTIAL ORGANS, AND THE TERMS 
NEEDED FOR THEIR DESCRIPTION. 
CHAPTER I. 
Roots. 
HOUGH but little study of the roots of trees is prac- 
ticable, some knowledge of their forms, varieties, 
and parts is important. 
The great office of the roots of all plants is the taking 
in of food from the soil. Thick or fleshy roots, such as 
the radish, are stocks of food prepared for the future 
growth of the plant, or for the production of flowers and 
fruit. The thick roots of trees are designed mainly for 
their secure fastening in the soil. The real mouths by 
which the food is taken in are the minute tips of the hair- 
like roots found over the surface of the smaller branches. 
As trees especially need a strong support, they all have 
either a tap-root—one large root extending from the 
lower erd of the trunk deep down into the ground; or 
multiple roots —a number of large roots mainly extend- 
ing outward from the base of the trunk. 
Trees with large tap-roots are very hard to transplant, 
and cannot with safety be transferred after they have at- 
tained any real size. The Hickories and Oaks belong to 
this class. 
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