The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-05-16
TIE ROOT OF THE MATTER.

gently an article entitled. "rhe Root of
the Matter" which contains information,
saws the Ners and Courier, that should
be known to every farmer in South
Carolina. We can not attempt to repro
duce the convincing pictures which Illus
trate the text, but a synopsis Of the article
will serve to indicate its interest and
value.
Prof. T. H. King, of the Wisconsin Ex-
pertinent Station, has been making some
experiments for several years to deter
mine the extent aud character Of the root
growth of the corn plant, among others,
and the amount of water needed to make
good crop. In order to show the root
growth the corn was planted in cages OF
wire netting-some enclosing single
stalks and some extending across the
rows and enclosing stalk in each row
and the space between-which admitted
of being lifted out of the ground SO that
the soil could be washed out, leaving tie
whole mass of roots exposed unbroken
and in place. There were numbers OF
cages, and they were lifted and washed
out at different stages in the growth OF the
plants. The exhibits were interesting
and instructive.
In eighteen days after the seed was
planted the roots had gone twelve inches
deep and spread laterally 10 distance of
eighteen inches. In nine days more they
sunk to eighteen inches and spread
twenty-four inches, with tops from two
to four inches of the surface. Two pic
lures show the growth of roots across The
rows. One was taken when the corn was
about three feet high-about the last cul-
tivation. "The roots occupy the whole
soil down to depth of two feet. Branch
ing out in all directions from the main
roots are slender rootlets, from two to
six inches long, reaching to the very sur
face of the ground and into every possi-
BILE part of the upper soil. These rootlets
are the feeding organs of the Plants, and,
if they are destroyed, new ones must be
thrown out by the roots before the plant
can thrive"
Another picture shows the roots just as
the corn is going into. full tessel. The
whole upper three feet Of the soil is filled
with them, and in the centre Of the row
the leaders or main roots are nearer the
surface. The rootlets fill all the spaces
between the larger roots. Another cage
was lifted and washed out ut the maturity
of the crop. It was then found that the
roots filled q space four inches deep be-
tween the rows, with the leaders within
four inches Of the surface. Nothing, says
Prof King, could illustrate more forcibly
than these samples low deeply and
broadly the corn plant sends its roots
foraging through the soil, and the Rurzl
Neto Yorker adds: ut is easy to see that
these taby roots can not make this rapid
growth unless the soil conditions are just
right for them. They never could do it
in hard, cold, soggy soil, and thus we
see the need of doing all we. can to pre-
pare light, porous and warm surface
soil. Just thin6 what the effect is when
you go slashing between the rows with
your deep.running cultivator OF plough.
You do not help thereof growth at all,
because the roots easily penetrate the
soil far below your cultivating and
ploughing. You simply smash up and
teara necessary part of the plant. You
| find fault with the COW when she bites
of the top of a corn plant, but you glorify
yourself when you slash off its roots"
In the same report Prof. King details
some careful experiments to show how
much water one corn plant must have to
ma ke an ordinary growth. The expert
ments were conducted for two years and
proved that to produce one pound of dry
matter, stalk and ear, it was necessary
for the plant to appropriate and use three
hundred and nine pounds of water.
aThis vast quantity Of water must all
pass through the roots of the corn" and
it is therefore necessary TO secure and
preserve great mass of roots in order to
the full development of the plant.
The most striking and the most instruc-
tive part of the article is the five pictures.
They tell the whole story to the eye at a
glance. The roots OF o stalk are shown
in bunch hanging from beam, and
are as bushy and as long as korse's tail.
Two other pictures show the stalks in q
frame as they stood in the rows, three
and one-half feet apart, with the roots
spread out in the position they occupied
in the ground. They fill the whole space
between the rows with tangle of fine,
long fibres that fly could not pass
through, and the thickest parts are near
the surface.
Every farmer should obtain copy of
the srticle, and study it for himself. The
facts and principles itsets forth apply to
many other crops besides corn, and the
information is of special interest at this
season. The Rural Ne,U Yorker is pub
lished in New York City and the price Of
one copy of!he paper is three cents.