Transformation of Oats into Rye. 671 



still a number of its own members who doubt it ; these how- 

 ever own, that they have either not made the experiment, or 

 that they have sown the oats too early, and therefore had to 

 cut the oats oftener than twice, in order to prevent it from 

 forming a flower-stalk, whereby the plant loses the power of 

 surviving the winter, and of being transformed into rye. We 

 cannot take notice of such adversaries as reject the result 

 without having put it to the test of experiment, or rest their 

 opposition on experiments that have not been conducted in 

 the right manner. Let any one sow the oats during the lat- 

 ter half of June, and the transformation in question will 

 certainly take place ! The time of sowing the oats did not 

 formerly appear of paramount importance to the Society, nor 

 was it believed that it could make any difference whether the 

 oats were clipped more than twice, as appears from its former 

 reports ; in consequence of which a few experiments have 

 failed here as well as in other places. Now, however, the 

 Society must consider, that if the transformation also take 

 place with oats that have been sown too early, it is merely an 

 accidental effect of a peculiar state of the weather, or other 

 accidental circumstances ; whereas the result is quite certain 

 if the oats be sown towards the end of June. If the soil be 

 too dry about that time, the reporter (Lieut. Donauer) con- 

 cludes from an experiment he made in 1837, that one water- 

 ing, so as to enable the oats to germinate, may be recom- 

 mended ; although if this be done repeatedly, the high tem- 

 perature of the season will cause the plants to grow so luxu- 

 riantly, that it becomes necessary to clip them three times 

 when about 1 J foot high, to prevent their forming the flower 

 shoot, whereby the object would be wholly or partially lost. 

 " If, however, among those who doubt the fact, there be 

 found charitable people who pity us because we trust more 

 to actual experiment than to theory, we should almost feel 

 tempted to pity theorists, whose self-sufficiency has prevent- 

 ed them from thoroughly investigating an important pheno- 

 menon which was noticed so many years ago ; nor could we 

 commend the discernment of such as are unable to discover 

 in the plants in question both the preceding year's dry stub- 

 ble and leaves of the oats, and the fresh stalks and leaves of 

 the rye, which latter form in May upon the caudex of the oat 

 plant, and produce fine winter rye. The Society takes credit 

 to itself for perseverance, in having struggled against the opi- 

 nion of the public for several years, in order to establish a 

 fact which no systematic physiologist would believe, because 

 people are always apt to. confound the laws of nature with 

 those of their systems." 



