1918] WaynicTc: Antagonism and Cell Permeability 137 



It is evident that these methods are limited in their application 

 and give no idea of the quantitative relationships existing between 

 the ions actually entering the cells. They do show, however, that the 

 permeability of the plant tissue may be greatly altered by salt action 

 and that solutions which permit of normal growth also preserve normal 

 permeability as regards the ions present in the solution. 



Object of the Investigation 



In a preliminary paper 7 the results obtained from chemical analy- 

 ses of plants grown in toxic and antagonistic solutions have been 

 reported. These results were of interest and the general method em- 

 ployed seemed to be worthy of a more extended application in the 

 determination of ions absorbed by plants from solutions, of known 

 composition and concentration. From a consideration of the data 

 in the paper referred to above, it was felt that the results obtained in 

 a more extensive investigation would be of importance: (1) from 

 the standpoint of the effect of various salts upon the permeability of 

 the cell tissue of growing plants; (2) from that of the effects of vari- 

 ous salts upon the nutrition of plants as evidenced by growth; (3) 

 from that of a possible correlation of growth with the absorption of 

 ions; and (4) from the standpoint of the quantitative relationships 

 existing between certain ions of the solution and the same ionic rela- 

 tionships in the plant. 



The various phases of the problem as outlined above will he con- 

 sidered in the discussion of the experimental results following. 



Review of Previous Investigations 



It is not intended that the following review of the previous work 

 done in this field of plant physiology be exhaustive. Robertson 8 has 

 reviewed the literature dealing with antagonistic salt action very 

 completely up to a recent date. Brenchley 8 and Lipman and Grericke 10 

 have referred to all the important work done with regard to the 

 effects of the salts of the heavy metals upon plaids. The present 

 review therefore touches only the work bearing directly upon the 



e Ibid., p. 562. 



7 < ontribution to the causes of antagonism lift ween ions. (Univ. Calif., 

 Master's thesis, 191.1.) 



sErgeb. Physiol. Jahrb., vol. 10 (HMD), p. 216. 



b Inorganic plant poisons and stimulants. New York, Putnam, 1 i » 1 -~ (Cam- 

 bridge agricultural monographs). 



io I'niv. Calif. Publ. Agr. Sci., vol. 1 (1917), p. 195. 



