Page:First course in biology (IA firstcourseinbio00bailrich).pdf/74

 ''cellular structure. The root-hair is a delicate tubular cell (Fig. 45), within which is contained living matter (protoplasm); and the protoplasmic lining membrane of the wall governs the entrance of water and substances in solution''. Being long and tube-*like, these root-hairs are especially adapted for taking in the largest quantity of solutions; and they are the principal means by which plant-food is absorbed from the soil, although the surfaces of the rootlets themselves do their part. Water plants do not produce an abundant system of root-hairs, and such plants depend largely on their rootlets.

, enlarged, showing root-hairs.

, much enlarged, in contact with the soil particles (s). Air-spaces at a; water-films on the particles, as at w.

The root-hairs are very small, often invisible. They, with the young roots, are usually broken off when the plant is pulled up. They are best seen when seeds are germinated between layers of dark blotting paper or flannel. On the young roots, they will be seen as a mold-like or gossamer-like covering. Root-hairs soon die: they do not grow into roots. New ones form as the root grows.

Osmosis.—The water with its nourishment goes through the thin walls of the root-hairs and rootlets by the process of osmosis. If there are two liquids of different density