192l] Proceedings of Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 5 



of exposure to light, is by far the most important factor in initiating 

 or retarding the production of flowers and fruit. For example, a 

 certain variety of soy-beans when exposed to light for only seven 

 hours a day blossomed on June 15th, while those exposed to full day- 

 light did not bloom until September 4th. The majority of the plants 

 experimented with showed similar hastening of flowering when ex- 

 posed to short day, but several plants responded in the opposite man- 

 ner and were much retarded in blooming by a short day. The au- 

 thors believe that their work will have a considerable practical effect 

 on agriculture, as it shows that the time of seeding for best results 

 will depend on the lengths of day to which the crops will be exposed. 

 They also believe that the natural distribution of plants on the earth 

 is governed more or less directly by the seasonal length of day which 

 obtains for the different latitudes from the equator to the poles. 



Election of Officers: 



President — ^W. DeB. MacNider. 

 Vice-President — W. F. Prouty. 

 Permanent Secretary — -J. M. Bell. 

 Recording Secretary and Treasurer — H. II. Totten, 

 Editorial Committee — W. C. Coker^ chairman; J. M. Bell, Collier 

 Cobb. 



