SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES 



/hj.fer/n/na/ a 



Pos /er/n e 



165 



A/!?j0/er/n 



/^A0//J 



Weg- 



. A/eg ferm'na/,a 



as it exhibits the Potato in its electrical aspect. 



The Flant receives its supply of current direct from the 

 earth, but is open to doubt whether such is the case with 

 the tubers to which it gives birth. They are connected to 

 the parent plant by a filament, or filaments — not altogether 

 unlike the umbilical cord and nerve of the human — ^through 

 which, or by means of which, they are energised. In the 

 specimen illustrated I can trace only two eyes to which such 

 filaments might have been attached (marked a, and 6). 

 They are negative terminals communicating with the outer 

 negative system, while c, d, and e, are positive terminals 

 of the lines /, g, and li. It is only where these slightly 

 darker lines reach the jacket that we find a five or prolific 

 eye. The unprolific eyes, so-called, are those by which the 

 tuber is attached by a filament to the parent plant. 



In all probability the tubes (Figure 112) or at all events 

 those tubes through which air passes, connect directly with 

 the prolific eyes. 



In my belief all members of the vegetable kingdom are 

 provided with a repair outfit, and in this respect the potato 

 is well endowed. Very shortly after being cut it exudes 

 a starchy substance which dries rapidly and, forming a 

 film over the cut surfaces, restores in some measure, if not 

 entirely, the impaired insulation, as well as preventing loss, 

 by evaporation, of the moisture without which it must 



