PHENOMENA OF PLANT-LIFE. 7 



pared for an exhibition of considerable power, but the results 

 of our trials have, nevertheless, been most astonishing. 



At first, we thought of trying the expansive force of some 

 small, hard, green fruit, such as a hickory-nut or a pear, but 

 the expansion was so slow, and the attachment of the fruit 

 to the tree so fragile, that this idea was abandoned. The 

 squash, growing on the ground with great rapidity and to an 

 enormous size, seemed, on the whole, the best fruit for the 

 experiment. 



Accordingly, seeds having been obtained from Mr. J. J. H. 

 Gregory, of Marblehead, they were planted on the first of 

 July in one of the propagating pits of the Durfee Plant-House, 

 where the temperature and moisture could be easily con- 

 trolled. A rich bed of compost from a spent hot-bed was 

 prepared, which was four feet wide, fifty feet long, and about 

 six inches in depth. Here, under the fostering care of Prof. 

 Maynard, the seeds germinated, the vine grew vigorously, 

 and the squash lifted in a most satisfactory manner. 



Never before has the development of a squash been observed 

 more critically, or by a greater number of people. Many 

 thousands of men, women and children, from all classes of 

 society, and of various nationalities, and from all quarters of 

 the earth, visited it. Mr. D. P. Penhallow watched with it 

 several- days and nights, making hourly observations. Prof. 

 H. W. Parker was moved to write a poem about it, and 

 Prof. J. H. Seelye declared that he positively stood in 

 awe of it. 



Vegetable growth consists in the development of the several 

 parts of a plant, according to a definite, predetermined plan 

 as regards the form, size and other characteristics of each 

 species. It results from the activity of a certain peculiar 

 inherent force, called life. Under the influence of this force, 

 stimulated to action by heat and light, plants absorb, digest 

 and assimilate mineral matter, converting it into the various 

 organic substances which enter into their composition. Ex- 

 amined under the microscope, all parts of plants are found 

 to consist primarily of closed cells, cohering into masses of 

 various forms and containing protoplasm. 



Growth is caused by the increase of cells in number and in 

 size. In a growing portion of a plant, as at the tip of the 



