366 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [November, 1912.] 
soil in which it is growing, notwithstanding the fact that 
plants have a selective capacity for assimilating organic and 
inorganic nutritive material. The comparatively large amount 
clusions. Considerable differences have been observed in the 
percentage of mineral elements in a given species of plant grown 
under different environments, and the plantain is no exception 
totherule. Itis reasonable to infer that the composition of the 
subject of physiological botany which goes beyond the scope 
of the paper, which is an attempt to deal with the economic 
value of plantain ash as shown in the composition of a few 
samples of Indian origin. 
NPN NS 
