limited rainfall. We have often noticed that after a light shower 
in which the precipitation is not enough to wet the surface of 
the soil there is an area of moist soil surrounding the base of the 
stalks. What has happened is that rain falling on the leaves is 
directed toward the stalk moving from the upper leaves to the 
lower and finally to the soil at the base of the stalk where some 
of it probably reaches the roots. In plants with loose leaf 
sheaths, water funneled from the leaves is trapped in the spaces 
between the sheath and the stalk sometimes in substantial 
amounts so that puncturing the base of the sheaths causes a 
spurt of water. Can this trapped water be absorbed by the 
stalk? Plant physiologists to whom we have put this question 
have usually answered ‘“‘probably”’’ or words to that effect. 
However, a preliminary experiment that the senior author 
conducted with Galinat filling the sheath with water containing 
a vital dye showed no penetration of the dye into the tissues of 
the stalk. More refined experiments on this problem should be 
made. If water is not absorbed by the stalk it may be that at 
least it serves to reduce transpiration thus making the plant 
more efficient in its use of available moisture. 
LEAVES: Leaves and fragments of leaves comprised fifty-one 
specimens. One of those from level 4 is illustrated in Plate 49. 
The leaf had a width of 46 mm. and a venation index of 3.9 
aGtuca=- 
_ eebipetet OP 
Fig. 3. Diagram show- ; Cee 
ing the anatomical features of 2 LARRY 
the lower epidermis of a leaf CS) 
found in level 3. The leaves of ~~ 
prehistoric corn have allofthe ©5 RS 
characteristics of those of QYRA rz ls aa 
modern corn: bulliform cells, 
long cells, silica cells, cork 
cells, and stomata. 
