ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 835 



the case even thougli the pollinium may produce a skein of pollen- 

 tubes wMcli penetrate down into the interior of the style ; and even 

 when the tubes enter the ovary this is insufficient to ensure the 

 production of an embryo. 



Blooming of Arum italicum.* — Herr G. Kraus describes the struc- 

 ture of the club-shaped appendage to the inflorescence of Arum italicum, 

 and the remarkable changes which take place in its chemical constitu- 

 tion during blooming. In the course of a few hours this structure 

 loses, on an average, about 74 per cent, of its dry weight, chiefly by 

 the consumption of carbohydrates. Before blooming, about 66 per 

 cent, of its dry substance consists of starch, which entirely disappears, 

 as well as the sugar. These substances are not used up by the plant, 

 but oxidized and exhaled. In five inflorescences an average tempera- 

 ture of 51 "3^ C. was observed during blossoming, or 35*9° above that 

 of the surrounding air. Arum maculatum displays a similar elevation 

 of temperature ; Calla ethiopica, on the other hand, none at all. 



Influence of Electricity on the Growth of Plants.f — Dr. A. 

 Bronold finds that electricity has a threefold influence upon the 

 growth of plants — as an illuminant ; as decomposing the constituents 

 of the soil ; and as ozonizing the air. By the joint apj^lication of this 

 triple agency to certain ornamental plants and to strawberries, he 

 efiected growth, strength, and health, exceeding by two or three times 

 that obtained under natural cultivation ; larger size and better 

 development of flowers and fruits, without loss of flavour and odour ; 

 larger seeds, possessing greater germinative power ; more complete 

 assimilation of the plant-food in the soil, and freedom from vermin. 



Prof. Holdefleiss | has observed that beet seed, sown in a flower- 

 pot so placed that the soil was exj)osed to the electric light, germinated 

 two days earlier than similar seeds without the action of the electric 

 light. 



Herr Scholler § also testifies to the exceptional luxuriance of beets, 

 in a plot of about two square metres, which had been struck by 

 lightning. 



Respiration of Plants.|| — MM. G. Bonnier and L. Mangin point out 

 that hitherto the amount of oxygen given out by plants to the air has 

 been supposed to represent the total result of the fixation of carbon. 

 They show that this is not the case, but that at the same time that the 

 carbon is assimilated by the chlorophyll, the protoi>lasm absorbs 

 oxygen and emits carbonic acid. An analysis of the gas emitted by 

 a plant, therefore, only represents the diff'erence between the amount 

 of oxygen disengaged by assimilation of carbon and the amount 

 absorbed by respiration, and on the other hand, between the carbonic 

 acid decomposed by assimilation and the carbonic acid produced by 

 respiration. 



• Abh. Xaturf. Gescll. Hallo, xvi. (1884) 102 pp. (3 pis.). See Bot. Centralbl., 

 xxii. (188.'i) p. 16.S. 



t ZeitBchr. Land. Vereins in Baycrn. See Journ. of Sci., vii. (1885) p. 218. 



X Der Landwirtl). See Journ. of Sci., vii. ri885) p. 248. 



§ Ibid. 



II Ojmptcs RonduH, c. (188.5) p. 1303. 



