


237 
Plat G. 17. Roots extended to the depth of 20 inches. Many of 
the roots extended horizontally a distance of 30 inches. ‘The fine 
fibrous roots were mostly near the surface. The large roots were 
not as numerous as in the former plat. 
Notres By THE DIRECTOR. 
In roots which penetrate the soil it is only the youngest parts 
with their delicate root hairs and papillae that absorb nutriment for 
the use of the plant. The rate of growth of these roots are prob- 
ably largely influenced by temperature and moisture, and hence we 
should anticipate a non-accordance of observations made during 
different seasons, or in different climates. Thome, in his Botany, 
notes that the roots of a maize seedling attained their maximum 
rate of growth at 81° F.; those of the pea, wheat and barley, at 75° F. 
I find in my notes the following particulars, which may supple- 
ment the observations made at the station. 
Baruey. Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert record that the roots extend 
between 4 and 5 feet. Professor Beal says the combined length of 
all the roots of a stem of barley in good soil has been estimated at 
128 feet, and in poor soil at 80 feet. 
Beet. Walkhoff writes that he has traced the roots as much as 4 
feet down, where they entered drain pipes, and quotes Schacht as 
stating that the fibers of the Sugar Beet penetrate as much as 8 or 
10 feet of the soil, and as being found in drain pipes at the depth 
of 5 feet. 
CLover. Atwater found clover roots in Maine to extend 3 feet 2 
inches deep in a very heavy clay soil, the surface soil being 8% 
inches deep. Hon. Geo. Geddes in New York, sent to the State 
Agricultural Society a root 4 feet 2 inches long. Lawes & Gilbert 
describe Trifolium pratense, the Red Clover, as a very deeply root- 
ing plant with numerous long, thick, tap-shaped roots, more or less 
branched and with rather thick wavy fibres, provided with 
nodules, but almost destitute of root hairs. 7. repens, the white 
clover, as possessing a long deeply penetrating tap-root, giving off 
numerous rather thick, wiry, flexuoug branches, studded with little 
tubercles and descending obliquely into the soil. Liebig states that 
clover roots extend 6 feet into the soil. 
Grasses. 
Downy Oat Grass, Avena pubescens, according to Lawes & 
Gilbert, has short, creeping, underground root-stocks, and fine 
thread-like roots, generally superficial, but having the power to 
descend to a great depth under favorable circumstances. 
Kentucky Buus Grass, Poa pratensis, has, according to 
Lawes & Gilbert, underground stems which give off roots which, as 
well as those from the stolons, are fibrous, intricately branched, 
and penetrating very deeply, but forming a dense mat beneath the 
surface. The form known as June Grass, has roots which in New 
England, I have traced to seven feet deep, there being many at 2 
and 3 feet. 
Mxapow Fescun, Festuca pratensis, according to Lawes & Gil- 
bert has a subterranean stock, perennial, somewhat creeping, but 
