.TREES. 



PAET I. 



THE ESSENTIAL ORGANS, AND THE TERMS 

 NEEDED FOR THEIR DESCRIPTION. 



CHAPTER I. 

 Boots. 



rpHOUGH but little study of the roots of trees is prac- 

 -L 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 end 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. 



