168 



Another example of the same case: 



Date 6.2 10.2 13.2 17.2 22.2 26.2 

 Length in mm. 58 104 129 135 135 135 



Eranthis-stem of which the basai whoii has been eut 

 away, the flower remaining intact: 



Hence a stem which had been bereft of its flower grew 

 in length in a period of twelve days 176 % in the first 

 and 133 % in the second experiment, this increase in 

 length being only 16 % and 25 % respectively in the 

 same time with a stem on which the flower had been 

 preserved but the whorl of leaves removed. 



The influence which the présence of the leaf-vvhorl has 

 on growth follows clearly enough from this. Also in the 

 other cases which I investigated, the growth of stems that 

 bore flowers only, niay hâve been a little greater than of 

 stems from which the leaf-whorl as well as the flower 

 had been removed, it is certain, however, that the longi- 

 tudinal growth is chiefly regulated by the présence of 

 the green leaves. 



A related fact is that after removal of the leaf-whorl 

 the flower raises itself only very slowly and often only partly. 



Although the supposition is not very probable, it might 

 be presumed that the observed efifect of the three leaves 

 is caused by the circumstance that they hâve to provide 

 the stem with food. That this is not the case follows 

 from the fact that the same results are obtained in the 

 dark and that consequently the présence also of the non- 



