"We had a fine lesson today on the roots of plants," said Will. "Didn"t we, Fred?""Yes," said Fred. "Let us come into the garden, and have a talk about it. Father asked me to thin out some of the young plants from this bed of stocks. They are growing too thickly together. If we pull them up, we can learn something by looking at the roots.
"Shake the root clear of the soil that clings to it," he went on. "Now what does the root look like, Norah?""It looks like a great many white threads or strings, hanging fromthe bottom of the stem," said Norah.
"So it does," said Fred. "Teacher says that, because these roots are made up of threads, they are called Fibrous Roots. Fibes means a thread or string.
"Now come into my own little garden. Father let me make a radish bed all for myself, and they are growing at a jolly rate. Here, let us pull up one of them. There"s a root for you, little girl. Take my knifeand cut it across."
"Why, it is quite thick and solid all through," said Norah.
"Yes," said her brother, "teacher calls them Fleshy Roots, because they are so thick and solid.""You know, Norah," Will joined in, "carrots and turnips and parsnips are all roots like this one.""Teacher told us why some plants have these fleshy roots and others fibrous roots," said Fred.
"Let us go back to the young plants, that I began to thin out. Perhaps I can make it clear to you. Father sowed the seeds for these in the spring. By and by, during the summer, they will bear sweet- smelling flowers, and when the winter comes they will die.
"Teacher says all plants which live only one season, have fibrous roots. The carrot, turnip, and the other plants with fleshy roots would not die in the winter. The thick fleshy root is only a store of food to keep the plant alive, while it can get none from the soil. In the spring such plants wake up from their winter sleep, and burst out into leaves and flowers during the next summer. They do not die till their seeds are ripe."SUMMARY
The root holds the plant in the ground, and feeds it. All roots are not alike. Some plants bear flowers and seeds the same year as they are sown. They live only that one year. These have stringy or fibrous roots. Some plants do not bloom at all the first year. Their ?owers and seeds come in the second season. They have thick, ?eshy roots, like the roots of the radish, carrot, turnip, and parsnip.
Lesson 28