An investigation into the effect of seasonal root replacement upon plant longevity in perennial ryegrass (Lolium Perenne), Italian ryegrass (L. multiflorum), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and annual meadow grass (Poa annua) : a thesis presented at Massey Agricultural College in part fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in the University of New Zealand

Any reader of the American news magazine, "Time", will know that the editors occasionally publish a "grass roots report" dealing with some current question of public interest. It takes the form of a survey of the fundamental issues involved, and attempts to assess their significance, in-so-far as those issues are known. It is a tacit recognition by a non-scientific body of opinion of the importance of the underground organs to the well-being of a plant, and that these organs are more essential, despite their hidden and inaccessible habitat, than is commonly recognized. [From Introduction]