Noy, 1906. | THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 213 
succeeded his father at Glasnevin. Originally East Scotland 
folk—I think Kincardineshire—the Moores migrated to 
Ireland, where Charles Moore entered Trinity College Botanic 
Garden, under Dr. Townshend Mackay. Subsequently, on 
the recommendation of Professor Lindley, he was appointed 
Director of the Botanic Garden, Sydney, N.S.W., and his 
life was spent there. Under his direction the Sydney 
Garden became famous for its beauty and its rich collection 
of plants. He travelled widely in Australia at a time when 
that was not so easy as it is now, and he discovered many 
new plants, the best of which he introduced to horticulture. 
The familiar specific name JMoorei attached to many of our 
garden plants —for example, of Todea, Kentia, Macrozamia, 
and others—indicates his connection with them. He retired 
from active official life some years ago, and at his death had 
reached the ripe age of 86. 
The President then proceeded to discuss some of the 
problems of relationship of position and form of plant-organs 
to their environment that are at present receiving special 
attention from botanists. First of all, the question of 
gravitational sensitiveness was discussed. When a growing 
organ, say a root or stem which normally grows verti- 
cally, is laid horizontal it perceives the changed position 
and by curvature reverts to the normal. The currently 
advocated explanation of the mechanism of this perception 
attributes it to the presence of movable bodies, termed stato- 
liths, usually starch-grains, of greater specific gravity than 
the cell-sap, which in the normal position are aggregated on 
the basal walls of the cells of the organ, and to this the cells 
are accustomed ; when displacement to the horizontal occurs, 
the statoliths roll over to the lateral walls, now horizontal, 
and their weight gives the stimulus by which the movement 
of the organ to its original direction is induced. This stato- 
lith-hypothesis, although not yet generally accepted, finds a 
parallel in the mechanism of the sense of direction amongst 
some of the lower animals. 
Next, lizht-perception was referred to. It has long been 
known that ordinary flat leaves bend and turn upon their 
stalks so as to place their upper surface at right angles to 
the direction of the brightest diffuse light—every one who 
