The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-12-24
CLOVER AND TIMOTHY.

| Strong SusplcS0ns That the Roots OF ths
Former Take Advantage OF the latter.
During the past year the writer ha,
been making some observations upor
the roots of the red clover and the com.
mon timothy. These two plants are the
types of their respective groups. The
clover f7'rtoIinn f,ratense) is the pre-.
ferred forage plant Of the great pulse
family. to which the pea, bean. luceru
and thousands Of other plants belong.
The timothy (FAleam ProteHscJ. on the
other hand. il tho standard meadow
grass, and is q member of the great
grass family which includes the cereals
among It's best members. The farmer
could not get along for single season
without these two royal orders of plants,
and it may be also true that his success
would not be at its height it he neglect
ed to grow the two representatives here
chosen.
From first to last. the clover is very
differeHt from the timothy. In struc-
ture there is NO similarity, until the mi
croscopic elements are considered, and
here. of course, all plants are much
alike. In leaf, stem and flower there
is very little in common. The observa-
tions the present season have been upon
the roots. and here there is a wide diff
ference found. Passing by the process
Of termination. which has its charac-
teristic method in the seeds of each
plant, the roots themselves widely diff
fer. The observations were made upon
young plants produced BY scattering
seeds of, tho grass and clover upon
moist blotting paper. aud covering
them with moro blotting paper. A flask
was SO arranged that it furnished con-
slant supply Of water.
The timothy roots are small-that is,
long and slender. The cap or covering
at the tip is thin, and does not cast off
many cells. A word of explanation is
here needed on root caps in general
Every wcll-developed root has its tip or
free-growing end. protected by q cap.
consisting OF cells or little sacs packed
together, making q covering. The root
grows in length at point. or in layer
off upon the outside. by contact with the
sharp particles of soil, and this loss is
made good by new cells formed upon
the inner side. The timothy roots do
not produce many root-hairs for con-
siderable distance from the tip of tho
root. The root IN therefore smooth,
and might be likened to a common pin.
On the other hand. the clover root has
q thick, well developed cap. and from
its outer surface many cells are exfo-
lated. The reader must bear in mind
that the roots under investigation were
grown free from soil, and doubtless the
tips are somewhat different from those
that are produced in the soil. The
begin to develop from
the surface of the root in large num-
bers, only short distance back
Of the tip. These hairs are of different
shape from those of the timothy, being
often much twisted and frequent club-
shaped; while those in the grass are
slender. of the same diameter through
out. and usually straight. The most in
teresting point in connection with these |
hairs. was the fact that they quickly
visited around any substance that would |
furnish any nOurishment for the young
plant They often twisted upon each |
other. and formed complex knots. The
sxfoliated cells and accompanying slime
rom the tip of the roOt-caps. were Gag
,rly sought by these hairs whenever
hey came with n their reach. The
rocked hairs seemed to vie with each
'ther. seeking out anything they could
Ibsorb. The timothy hairs exhibited no
uch determination, They we're we'll
while the clover-root hairs
bowed themselves as willing to take
ny means to get on in the world.
'hese hairs in one case attacked the
ip of a timothy leaf. and exhibited all
he indications of obtaining food there
rom. They bent out OF their regular
curse as far as possible to get their tips
4 contact with the timothy. The clover
airs frequently behaved toward the
airs of the timothy roots as the threads
t a parasite upon its host-Prot. 3. D.
lctstcd, IN Country Gentlemen.