iQoo-i.] Effects of Water on Foliage Leaves. 277 



too rich soil. The leaves were much crowded towards the top and they 

 showed a good green colour. Plant 3 seemed to be dying and the 

 uppermost leaves were becoming very pale. It may be that death was 

 being brought about by fungi which attacked a dead leaf that clung to 

 the stem and decomposed there. The stem of plant 4 had become pale 

 and the upper leaves had become a pale yellow and begun to roll in 

 from the tips, not curling at the edges as in i and 2. The leaves of 

 plants 5 and 6 curled similarly to i and 2, but had a much more stunted 

 appearance. The plants were now removed from the jar and they did 

 better after being removed. These plants do not seem to take kindly 

 to water cultures. Plants 7 and 8, leaves flat and thin, becoming very 

 pale; stems thin and bending. Plants 9 and 10, growing well, and have 

 the appearance of 1 1, 12, 13, 14. 



The difficulty with these plants seemed to be that they could not 

 well endure a moist atmosphere, and they had a tendency to send out 

 aerial roots. Of course, in the case of No's i and 2 this would spoil the 

 experiment, as the roots would, or could, then do the absorbing. In 

 nearly every case, however, the atmosphere at some time became too dry 

 for the roots, and so they died down. The spraying, in the case of i, 2, 



3, 4, lasted continuously for about thirteen hours, then a rest was given 

 for at least twelve hours, nearly always much more than twelve hours. 

 The roots were aerated regularly by means of a hand pump through the 

 tube left for this purpose in the bottle. Distilled water was fed regularly 

 to the roots through the tube just mentioned. 



Notwithstanding the fact that these plants were not well adapted to 

 this experiment, there are some conclusions of more or less importance 

 to be drawn, and which bear upon the subject under discussion. The 

 average increase in length of stem of i and 2 is less than that of 3 and 



4, as is also the case with 5 and 6. In both cases the nutrient solution 

 seemed to retard the growth in length of the stem. The average 

 increase in length of stem of 3 and 4 is greater than that of i and 2, 

 though the number of leaves is greater in i and 2. In the case of 7 and 

 8 a small increase in length of stem and in number of leaves was 

 found. 



The following conclusions, applicable to this plant, may fairly be 

 drawn from the experiment, though due allowance must be made for 

 slight exigencies : — 



(i). A spray of water seemed to stimulate growth for a time. 

 4 



