Arizona weekly citizen., 1896-08-29
How Canaipre Grows.

10 Bulletin No. 81, just issued by the
| Arizona Agricultural Experiment Sta
ton. appears the following description
of cansigre: "Csnaigre is chiefly re-
marksble for its tuberous roots, varying
under different conditions of growth
from almost globular TO long and slender
forms. Outside Of the tubers the root
| system is not extensive, being distinctly
smaller than that OF beets or potatoes.
tn weight the roots range from fraction
OF an ounce to two pounds. External
ly, the young roots are light in color,
changing to brown, reddish brown or
almost black with age. They live sever
al years, usually five or more, but show
very little new growth after about the
third season. The root increases after
the manner of all exogenous stems by
adding q layer of new tissue to the heart
from without and to the bark from with
in. At the end of the growing season
this white zone of new growth may
always be found in living roots between
bark and heart, and, since the tissues
tend to deepen in color from year to
year, the older portions of the root, con-
Stating of the inner heart and the out.
side layers of bark, usually possess much
more coloring matter. Of;entimes the
greduations of color in successive rings
of growth are so sharply marked that
the age of root is roughly shown by it's
cross section.
The brittle, heavy bark, often a quart
or Of an inch in thickness, is externally
quite smooth in young roots, with
occasional scsrs making the points of
attachment OF smaller rootlets during
the period of growth. The old roots
are rougher, often shaggy end deeply
cracked as the result of rapid growth.
The growing buds are at the crown of
the root and are sometimes also borne
on the hesby base Of the stems, which |
occasionally do not die but persist,
seemingly in order to bring the buds
nearer to the surface when the roots
have been too deeply buried. In young
roots the buds are conspicuous and |
prompt to grow but small and sluggish |
in old ones.
Iuc ECOls, Ueudiiy cTcCb AZ pOSltlOo. |
appear normally at less than one foot |
below the surface. The root clusters,
containing tn bers Of every size and age,
very much in arrangement. Roughly |
speaking, the new roots surround the |
mother tubere, making cluster in |
which the old growth is centrally placed |
Ottentime the new roots happen to |
form en- one side of the mother tn Der |
and, continuing in that direction, make |
a chain OF roots connected at their |
crowns and in hich the old growth is |
at one end, the new at the other. In |
creasing in this manner, the number of |
living roots in a single colony is some |
times very large. A thrifty hill dry in |
a sandy wash near Tucson yielded 81 |
roots, weighing about pounds, while o |
cultivated hill three years old, from
Phoenix, gave 81 roots weighing us |
pounds.
As they grow older, the roots become |
moro and more dormant, showing less !
tendency to throw 10 shoots OF their |
own, but maintaining feeble vitality |
through their connection with younger |
roots. In nature the old roots seem to |
serve as safeguard against extermina-
tion, being less easily affected by ad- |
verse conditions. They also seem to be |
concerned in the work of seed produc |
ton since it appears, other things equal,
that good seed stalks are associated with |
strong old roots Seeding roots do not |
produce seed during their fret year of |
growth.