444 The effects of Light on the Germination of Seeds. 



The leaf stalks of the tulips shot up remarkably long, and 

 were in both cases white. At length an exceedingly small 

 flower bud appeared on the plant under the orange glass, 

 which perished almost as soon as it appeared, and the death 

 of the plant almost immediately followed. 



The tulips under the yellow glass never showed any buds, 

 and their vitality soon failed them. The condition of the 

 ranunculuses, under the same influence, was in most respects 

 similar to that of the tulips. They exhibited the same exu- 

 berant length of stalk, but the leaves were of a more health- 

 ful appearance. These plants, however, never showed any 

 flower buds, and they died nearly about the same time with 

 the tulips. 



It may be proper to mention that the pots in which these 

 roots were planted, were filled with a mixture of fine earth, 

 sand and well rolled manure, from a hotbed. A few days 

 after the exposure, those under the yellow and orange glasses 

 threw up several fungi, and continued for several days to do 

 so, which was not the case with any of the others. 



The above result would indicate some peculiar property 

 pq^sessed by the orange and yellow colored glasses, which 

 is probably owing to the most of the refrangible rays being 

 cut off". 



Under the ruby and red glasses, the tulips shot up a single 

 lobe, which maintained a little life for three or four weeks, 

 but never rose more than two inches above the soil. There 

 was a marked redness upon this stunted formation, which is, 

 no doubt, characteristic of the kind of medium under which 

 they were placed. The tuberous roots perished in the soil : 

 sufficient moisture and warmth had called into action the 

 latent principle of germination, but, being unable to maintain 

 it against the destructive influence of the light, they rotted. 

 This result exhibits a most wonderful influence exercised by 

 the colored medium through which the light passed. 



Beneath the green glass all the plants grew slowly, but 

 tolerably strong. They were, however, marked by a more 

 extraordinary length of stem than those already mentioned. 

 Some of the stems of the ranunculuses, under this glass, 



