After dipping the corner of a towel in the basin, and hanging it up by the opposite corner, does not the dampness run down when drying?
No, the moisture ascends and wets the dry part of the towel.
So you see, then, that the water in small particles can arise in the pores, or narrow openings of substances. This is because the sides attract it, and the process is called capillary, or hairlike, attraction. On this principle the moisture rises into the rootlets through the spongioles.
Is that all the work they do?
Sometimes these fibres reject things not wanted in the tree, and that often prove poisonous to its growth. Such important little workmen as the spongioles ought not to be disturbed in their labour, and this is what makes the difficulty in moving trees.
I know that most of those I move are sure to die. But gardeners are more lucky.
The reason is, because they do it at a proper time.
What, father, can we catch the spongioles asleep?
Not exactly; but they only live a year, and you must take up the tree between the time of the death of one set, and the production of another, which is the winter season. Even then you should get up as many fine roots as possible, for at the end of these the spongioles grow.
All roots are not alike, father.