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The roots appeared to extend in no direction further than 
one foot, and the greater part of the fibers lay at an angle 
of about 45 degrees. 
The roots of this plant differed from those of any other 
that I have examined by the fact that they almost always. 
divided into two parts of equal size, whereas in others the 
branches have rarely if ever equaled in size the root whence 
they proceeded. 
Unlike the onion, the Corn Salad does not appear to 
demand an excessively fertile soil. It is probable that this 
plant will thrive as well with the rows one foot apart as at. 
a greater distance. 
EGG PLANT. 
The egg plant being a native of the tropics, it was rather 
expected to find a large development of roots very 
near the surface. Such was not the case, however. In a 
plant of the Black Pekin variety, of which the roots were 
washed out Sept. 28, the main roots radiated from the base 
of the stem at varying angles, but the majority rather in- 
clined to perpendicular. The horizontal roots were smaller 
in size than those that grew downward, and none reached 
a greater length than two feet. Branches were most 
numerous near the base of the stem. The main roots were 
about the size of a wheat straw. Root hairs were numer- 
ous on the fibers. 
The plant examined grew but about fifteen feet from a 
Norway Spruce hedge, and the soil at the time the examin- 
ation was made seemed dryer here than in the part of the 
garden not adjacent to the hedge. Possibly the dryness of 
the soil induced by the hedge may have had some influence: 
upon the root development. 
OKRA. 
The okra, also a tropical plant, was not found to be 
especially shallow rooting. In a plant of the dwarf variety 
of which the roots were washed out Sept. 11, the longer 
roots extended several inches into the compact clay sub- 
soil. Atthe depth of eighteen inches the tap root branched 
freely, and some of the branches were of considerable 
length, with many sub-divisions. Sometimes these deep 
branch roots enlarged after leaving the tap root, as did the 
more shallow ones. <A horizontal root was traced a distance 
of three feet, where it was still the size of a straw of timo- 
thy. The fibrous roots chiefly lay at a depth of three to 
ae inches, but many branches reached upward to the sur- 
ace. 
