FOR WAGGONER’S BIOLOGY 
17 
Name of 
Plant 
Roots 
Length of 
Life 
Where formed 
Kind 
Charaeteristies 
(Example) 
Carrot 
Soil 
Tap 
Fleshy with few fine, 
fibrous branch 
roots. 
Biennial 
III. Do you find nodes and internodes in any of the roots? 
What are the functions of roots? 
EXERCISE 18 
ROOT HAIRS 
Prepare the material for this exercise three or four days previous 
to the time when it is to be used. In Petri dishes place well 
moistened filter paper. Upon this paper place a number of radish, 
lettuce, and oat seeds. Cover and keep in a warm room under a 
bell jar. (This is to prevent drying.) The specimens can be used 
for the preliminary study without opening the Petri dishes. 
I. Examine the roots which have appeared from the seeds kept 
in the moist air of the Petri dish. What is the color of the roots? 
What other characteristics do you observe? From what part of 
the seeds do the roots appear? Study one of the roots which has 
been mounted under low power. Note the root cap. What is its 
nature? Can you see cells in the root? Note the downy growth 
which nearly covers these roots. This growth is made up of root 
hairs. What do you observe with regard to the number of the 
root hairs? Their size? Where are the root hairs located with 
reference to the root-tip? What is their relation to the surface cells? 
Compare in nature and in length the root hairs which are nearest 
the tip with those which are farther away. By examining the 
condition of the root hairs farthest from the root-tip, determine 
what finally becomes of the root hairs. Where in the root does 
