1881 FLASHING LIGHT ON PLANT TISSUES 109 



Medusae, see ' Phil. Trans.' vol. clxvii. pt. ii. pp. 683-4) 

 if it would turn out that a continuous uninterrupted 

 series of sparks, however bright, would produce no 

 effect at all, owing to the plant tissues being too slug- 

 gish to admit of being affected by a succession of 

 stimuli each of such brief duration. But if any effect 

 were produced, it would still be interesting to make 

 out whether this interrupted source of flashing light 

 were considerably less effective than a continuous 

 source of the same intensity. 



Very sincerely and most respectfully yours, 



GEO. J. KOMANES. 



Linnean Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W. : 



December 14, 1880. 



My dear Mr. Darwin, I am glad that you think 

 the experiment worth trying. As you say you have 

 not got the requisite apparatus for trying it, I have 

 written to Professor Tyndall to see if he would allow 

 it to be carried through at the Eoyal Institution. 



If I had known you were in town I should have 

 called to tell you about the Echinoderms. My paper 

 on them is now written (70 pages), so I have begun 

 to come here (Burlington House) to read up syste- 

 matically all the literature I can find on animal 

 intelligence. Hence it is that, having left your letter 

 at home, and not remembering the address upon it, I 

 have to send this answer to Down. 



is a lunatic beneath all contempt an 

 object of pity were it not for his vein of malice. 

 Very sincerely and most respectfully yours, 



GEO. J. KOMANES. 



