54 
THE GARDEN OF THE WORLD 
How do roots 
wor\? 
tree, and because of its rich color it is more 
desirable for lumber than the sapwood. 
Roots have two jobs. One is to serve as an 
anchor and hold the plant firmly in the ground. 
The other is to absorb moisture and mineral 
substances from the soil. A plant requires a 
great deal of water, getting nearly all of it from 
the roots. The rain which falls upon the leaves 
is not particularly useful to it. 
There are almost as many different kinds of 
root forms as there are kinds of plants. One 
reason for these different forms is the place 
where, the plant is growing. A corn plant living 
in sandy soil will have deeper, longer roots than 
one growing in heavy black soil because the 
water soaks into sand more quickly and the 
roots must reach further to get it. 
A carrot is a root. When one that has just 
been pulled from the ground is examined, it is 
easy to see the many fine hairs growing out from 
the sides. These are called root hairs, and they 
do most of the work of absorbing moisture. 
They soak up every drop of water they touch 
