THE TEMPERATURE OF PLANTS. 573 
a flower, by placing it in inert gas from which all oxygen has been 
expelled, its temperature will fall to that of the surrounding 
atmosphere. 
Among the many plants which I have experimented with, that 
which yielded, amongst others, very marked data is the bamboo 
(Bambusa arundinacea) the part of this plant experimented with 
being the young growing shoots. As is well known this plant 
grows with startling rapidity during the growing season. Let 
me for a moment say that I have for years tested, with mathe- 
matical precision, a twenty-four hours’ growth of Bambusa, and on 
thirty-seven occasions found that during a period of twenty-four 
hours an upright growth of over 19 inches ; on sixty-nine occasions 
over 14 inches; and 111 occasions over 12 inches. In 1893 the 
record growth in twenty-four hours was 25 inches. This was sub- 
sequent to a very heavy thunder-shower which was accompanied 
by an intensely high temperature of the air. The experiments 
carried out with the temperature of the bamboo was as 
follows :— 
Max. dry bulb) : : | Min. inserted | yin. inserted 
ermslon Max. wet bulb. Max. inserted.|Min. External.| in Sone imloldinood: 
| 
89:0 80°1 90:2 72°4 owe 2S 
83°5 80°6 91:0 751 78:8 755 
87°6 79°8 89°9 fo | 78:0 75'8 
87:2 81-1 99-0 76:1 79°1 76°6 
86°6 $10 89:4 70) 788 72°0 
8d°8 76°5 89°3 72°8 75'8 diel 
The foregoing six readings are given to illustrate the fluctua- 
tion of the records. It must, however, be remembered that the 
readings of the wet bulbs and those inserted being practically 
under the same conditions, the comparison is of the most value. 
So much for the bamboo. Let us now turn toa plant of a very 
different structure, viz., J/wsa (banana), of which a six days’ 
readings (consecutive) are given : 
Max. in shade,|Min. in Shade,| Max. Wet, Min. Wet, | Max., inserted) Min., inserted 
External ea een (dry).| External. External. in Stem. in Stem. 
86°4 781 77:0 76°3 80:0 ie 
85-5 70:0 80:1 68'4 84:2 79-4 
871 69°3 84°4 61°5 88°8 66:2 
87:2 69°3 65:3 65:0 90-0 751 
88-0 66°1 79'8 65°1 89°6 74:1 
85°5 64-4 86°6 63°8 90°0 Ta4 
