28 



THE PLANT WORLD. 



The leading study of the 

 present season was with 

 Asparagus stems. When 

 the tips were about a foot 

 above the ground they 

 were cut at the surface of 

 the soil, marked at inter- 

 vals of one inch with In- 

 dia ink and placed upright 

 in jars containing three 

 inches of water. Notes of 

 the growth were made at 

 the end of three hours, 

 when the average elonga- 

 tion of eight stems was 

 seven-eighths of an inch. 

 Growth from that time 

 was much retarded, and at 

 the expiration of three 

 days three of the stems 

 were photographed along 

 with a normal stem, as 

 shown in the accompany- 

 ing engraving. 



The following table 

 gives the elongations for 

 each of the eleven inches 

 in eight stems: 



The average growth of the eight stems is 1.97 inch. The least 

 growth was 1.40 inch, and the greatest 2.35 inches in the three days. 



The greatest elongation was in the fifth inch from the top, fol- 

 lowed closely by the sixth inch and next by the fourth. The total 



