MARCH 21, 1884.] 
In the summer of 1873 I discovered a very 
interesting case of the lifting-power exerted by 
roots during growth, and in 1875 called the 
attention of my friend, Col. W. S. Clark, to 
the fact. He made measurements of the vari- 
ous parts, and noted the case in the Scientific 
farmer of Oct. 1, 1875. I cannot do better 
than reproduce his description, as follows : — 
‘*On a ledge of coarse granite in the town 
of York, Me., stands a black birch (Betula 
lenta) which is about forty feet high, with a 
trunk two feet in diameter. The seed from 
which it sprang germinated in a narrow seam 
of the rock at a point eight feet from the ground 
in a perpendicular direction, and some fifteen 
feet along the line of the seam, which descended 
at an angle of forty-five degrees. ‘The first 
rootlets of the young plant penetrated the seam 
until they reached the earth, from which sup- 
plies were to be drawn for the nourishment of 
the future tree. ‘The mass of rock above the 
roots was more than fifteen feet long, from five 
to ten feet wide, and from one to three feet 
thick.’’ Its weight was thus very nearly twen- 
ty tons. ‘‘ Only two slender rootlets undertook 
the task of lifting and carrying this enormous 
load. One passed down nearly under the cen- 
tre of the rock ; and the other, two or three feet 
from the first, and so near the edge that at one 
point it has been forced out from under the 
rock, forming a sheet eighteen inches in width. 
The base of the trunk where it enters the seam 
now measures four feet in width and one foot 
in thickness. The mass of rock has been ele- 
vated twelve inches, and carried sideways eight 
inches by the expansive power of these two 
roots, which have not only borne this immense 
burden, but have supplied the crude sap for 
the development of the tree. It is but trifling 
to add the fact that they have not only raised 
the rock, but also the entire tree, from an eighth 
to a quarter of an inch every year.”’ 
The man on whose land this was found said 
he well remembered the time when it was im- 
ossible to insert his finger in the widest 
part of the seam. This is only one of the 
many similar cases which occur naturally, and 
is not more striking or suggestive than the 
force exerted by the mammoth squash in lifting 
a five-ton weight.? 
In 1875, when carrying on some experiments 
with the squash-vine, it became necessary to 
remove the young squashes. This was accom- 
plished by passing a knife through the stem of 
the squash, leaving the latter in position for 
future collection. One squash, though cut 
from the vine, was overlooked in the first col- 
1 Clark, Phenomena of plant-life. 
SCIENCE. 
lection ; and, when the final harvest was made, 
it was discovered firmly united to the stem, and 
of a very good size. Upon careful examina- 
tion, both outwardly and under the microscope, 
it appeared that (1) when the cut was made, 
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A BLAZE WHICH HAD BEEN COVERED BY MANY YEARS’ 
GROWTH. 
the squash was not displaced, and the cut sur- 
faces immediately came together again; (2) as 
determined by a ‘ fault’ in a crack of the epi- 
dermis, the squash rotated in position as the 
cut was made, thus accomplishing a displace- 
