CHAPTER IX 



THE WORK OF ROOTS 



64. What Roots do. — The functions of the roots of a 

 plant are four in number : 



First : to gather moisture and plant food and conduct 

 them to the stems and leaves. 

 Second : to help dissolve mineral plant food. 

 Third : to hold the plant erect. 

 Fourth : to act as a storehouse for food. 



55. Gathering Food and Moisture. — We have already 

 learned that " roots search for food and moisture in the 

 soil as though they had eyes." No matter how deep or 

 shallow, how extensive or limited the root system, mois- 

 ture and plant food are taken in. There must be some 

 force, or law, which governs this intake. Let us find' 

 out what it is. 



EXERCISE 25 



Object. — To determine why moisture enters the roots of 

 plants. 



Procedure. — Select a fresh carrot, preferably one an 

 inch or more in diameter. Bore or cut a hole a half inch 

 in diameter downward from the top and extending at 

 least two inches into the carrot. Pour into it a spoonful 

 of sugar and fill it nearly full of water. Plug the hole 

 with a rubber or wooden cork, which fits tightly so that 

 water can not escape around it. There should be a small 



77 



