Action of Chloroform on the Sensitive Plant. 2P5 



naturally explained by attributing to the ascending sap the 

 transport of the corrosive poison, a transport which, in this 

 case, would take place in the direction from below, upwards. 

 But, how to account for the apparent transmission of the ef- 

 fects of the chloroform in the contrary direction, from above, 

 downwards. Might the descending sap more peculiarly have 

 the property of transmitting the narcotic effects of this sin- 

 gular compound from one part of the sensitive plant to the 

 other ; or might there exist in this plant some special organ 

 susceptible of being affected by certain vegetable poisons in 

 a manner analogous to the nervous system of animals 1 Not- 

 withstanding the interesting investigations of Dutrochet and 

 other physiologists, there still prevails too much obscurity on 

 this subject to hazard an opinion. But, in any case, the fact 

 is singular, and appears to me to merit the attention of per- 

 sons accustomed to engage in questions of this nature. 



Experiments of the same kind, made on the contractility 

 of the sensitive plant with rectified sether, have furnished me 

 with results nearly similar to the preceding ; with this differ- 

 ence, however, that whilst one drop of chloroform placed on 

 the common petiole of a leaf situated at the extremity of a 

 branch of a sensitive plant, suffices to cause most of the other 

 leaves situated beneath on the same branch to close, aether 

 in general produces an effect only on the leaf itself with which 

 it is put in contact. The next leaves have generally appeared 

 to me not affected. I must, however, add, that my experi- 

 ments with aether having been made after the others, and at 

 a time of year when the sensitiveness of the plant began to 

 diminish, it is possible that the intensity of the effects pro- 

 duced may have thereby been affected. 



Addition by the Editor. — In Professor Simpson's inter- 

 esting observations on Local Ansesthesia, we find the follow- 

 ing notice, which we trust is but preliminary to a more 

 extended series of experiments on this subject, by Professor 

 Balfour: " Through the kindness of Professor Balfour I 

 have had various opportunities of trying the effects of chlo- 

 roform vapour upon the sensitive plant {Mimosa pudica). 

 When the vapour was either too strong or too long con- 

 tinued, the plant was destroyed. Wlien it was weaker and 



