358 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



the interior of one where it occurred spontaneously. He cul- 

 tivated the fungus in egg-albumen, and thus conveyed it to 

 uncontaminated eggs. 13 A, February 21, 1874, 207. 



CAUSE OF PHOSPHORESCENCE OF DECAYING WOOD. 



It is stated that the attempt to account for the phosphor- 

 escence of decaying wood by the assumption of a peculiar 

 process of combustion accompanying decay has lately been 

 rendered unnecessary by the discovery of the presence on 

 such wood of a fungus which emits light, as a result of vital 

 processes, and which, without destruction of this power, can 

 be scraped on and transferred to other wood ; even animal 

 matter may be rendered phosphorescent by it. High tem- 

 perature, or gases that destroy life, as well as the withdrawal 

 of the requisite degree of moisture, cause instant cessation 

 of the light. 



THE ASCENT OF SAP IN PLANTS. 



Professor McNab has presented to the Royal Irish Acade- 

 my a memoir on the ascent of water in the stems of plants, to 

 investigate which point very many experiments were made. 

 He finds, in the privet, the rate of ascent to be about six inches 

 per hour; in the elm, 16.6 inches per hour; in the cherry lau- 

 rel the rate varied from 24 to 13 inches. Experiments were 

 also made as to the influence of sunlight and darkness, the in- 

 fluence of the bark, the influence of the leaves, and the influ- 

 ence of pressure. 12 A, IX., 355. 



PROMOTION OF GERMINATION BY CAMPHOR-WATER. 



A series of experiments, undertaken by Professor Vogel, 

 of Munich, to substantiate the fact that camphor-water pro- 

 motes the growth and prevents the wilting of tulips, etc., led 

 to the discovery that old seeds, which have almost lost the 

 power of germination, not only recover it when treated with 

 camphor-water, but even germinate in larger numbers and 

 more rapidly than fresh seeds under ordinary conditions. 

 Thus beans, that required eight to ten days for germination 

 under ordinary conditions, developed in camphor-water after 

 three days ; and cucumber seed that would not germinate at 

 all in good soil, germinated soon, and without a single fail- 

 ure, in camphor-water; and, what is more remarkable still, 



