SYNOPSIS OF PART I 



ELECTRICAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN 

 PLANT LIFE 



CHAPTER I 



GENERAL 



PAGE 



Application of electricity to the soil No attempt to ascertain 

 Nature's methods Experiments not conclusive The views 

 of Thome and Sachs Analogies in animal and vegetable 

 physiology Electricity plays a part in the vegetable as well as 

 in the animal world Everything living has a well-defined 

 electrical system The edible part of a fruit or vegetable is the 

 positive element Dry earth is a non-conductor of electricity 

 Water required as an electrolyte Conservation of energy of 

 vegetable cells Electromotive force of vegetables, plants and 

 fruits Plants grown in pots Electrical stimulation of growth 

 The recording instrument and electrodes Sign of the earth 

 and the air How earth-grown plants, etc., are charged 

 Method of testing described Theories examined and disputed 

 Effect of diffusion or decay The apple described and illustrated 

 How a cut apple endeavours to protect itself against decay 

 The banana illustrated, its positive and negative systems The 

 tomato illustrated Difference between one grown in the open 

 and one from the greenhouse Effect of connecting pot with the 

 earth The orange and lemon, illustrated and described 

 Peculiarity of absolute insulation The turnip illustrated 

 Defective absolute insulation and consequent short life after 

 removal from the soil No adequate means of protection 

 Effect of keeping in a moist condition (illustrated) The carrot, 

 illustrated and described The onion (illustrated), a compound 

 cell Difficult to examine galvanometrically Perfect absolute 

 insulation Its electromotive force and current Invaluable as 

 a standard cell - - 8 



Tubers : The potato, illustrated and described Takes its current 

 from the mother plant Prolific and unprolific eyes How it is 

 enabled to repair injury How it grows (illustrated) The 

 Jerusalem artichoke (illustrated) Takes its electrical supply 

 directly from the earth and differs in other respects from the 

 potato Leaves Deciduous and evergreen Differences of in- 

 sulation and life The horse-chestnut and ivy (illustrated) - 14 

 XV 



