Dr. Smi'h's 

 experiments 



8|g OV THE IRRITAUIMTY OF THE BARBERRY. 



rant regarding the irritable part of the filament ? Certainly, 

 Sennebier did not doubt the accuracy of Dr. Smith's ob- 

 servations ; and had he repeated the Doctor's experiments 

 before he wrote, 1 think, he would never have treated of the 

 irritability of barberry in thr» manner which he has done. 



Some of the above remarks were written last year, at a 

 period, when it was not in my power to repeat Dr. Smith's 

 experiments. This season ho\yever presenting ample op- 

 portunity for the purpose, 1 readily embraced it ; and now 

 ^t is with pleasuie I state, that, on comparing my remarks 

 ' with those of Dr. Smith, they perfectly coincided; and 



that I have no hesitation in saying, that the inside of the 

 base of the filament is the ow/y irritable part of the sta- 

 mina. 



»od Taxied. To ascertain the last mentioned point clearly, and that 



J might be allowed to experiment easily, I cut or pulled 

 off the calyx and corolla from a number of flowers : and, not 

 being careful to avoid irritation, the contraction of the 

 stamina always took place.— -In a few minutes after, how- 

 ever, the stamina completely expanded : and then I repeated 

 Dr. Smith *6 experiments, as well as others, sometimes with- 

 out detaching the flowers from the bush, at other times with 

 flowers which I had carried to my room. 



The motion of , The motions of the stamina, I observed, were performed 



the stamens ypf\i]^ ^s much vigour under water, as when the flowers were 



takes place " 



tmder water, growing on the bush. 



They will con- ^ likewise ascertained, that the stamina, after being once 



tract a 2d time contacted, were capable, in healthy flowers, of undergoing 



a second contraction, after an interval of Jive minutes, or 



sometimes in a much shorter period. 



At a future time, I intend publishing the result of my 



experiments on the barberry with chemical stimuli. 



in St few mi- 

 nutes. 



X. 



