132 LIFE AND WORK OF SIR JAGADIS C. BOSE 



to the nature of the detecting apparatus upon its circuit 

 so essentially it is with the organism, which may exhibit 

 a variety of different responses to the same stimulus, 

 in accordance with its differing functional and structural 

 means of expression. Its mechanical response, its respon- 

 sive electric current, its variation of conductivity are but 

 different expressions of an identical reaction which underlies 

 excitation. 



This conception of the concomitance of these different 



FIG. 9. ' Fatigue ' depression of response in plant. 



manifestations, when taken along with the further investi- 

 gation of their optimum, and also of their maximum 

 and minimum especially those of temperature, at which 

 inaction appears, and even death supervenes next 

 led to the unexpected discovery of a ' death-spasm ' 

 in all plants. Furthermore, this death-spasm, when 

 experimentally scrutinised and recorded by each of these 

 independent methods mechanical, electro-motive, and 

 conductivity variation was found to show the same 

 simultaneity of all the three changes. 



For determining the critical temperature at which the 



