186 - THE EFFECT OF KILLING OE Chap. IU. 



gravity likewise resides in the tip ; so that it is the 

 tip which excites the adjoining parts of a horizontally 

 extended radicle to bend towards the centre of tlie 

 earth. 



Secondakt Eadicles becoming vertically Geo- 

 teopic by the desteuction ok injury of the 

 Terminal Part of the Peimaey Eadicle. 



Sachs has shown that the lateral or secondary 

 radicles of the bean, and probably of other plants, are 

 acted on by geotropism in so peculiar a manner, that 

 they grow out horizontally or a little inclined down- 

 wards ; and he has further shown* the interesting fact, 

 that if the end of the primary radicle be cut off, one 

 of the nearest secondary radicles changes its nature 

 and grows perpendicularly downwards, thus replacing 

 the primary radicle'. We repeated this experiment, 

 and planted beans with amputated radicles in friable 

 peat, and saw the result described by Sachs ; but 

 generally two or three of the secondary radicles grew 

 perpendicularly downwards. We also modified the 

 experiment, by pinching young radicles a little way 

 above their tips, between the arms of a U-shaped 

 piece of thick leaden wire. The part pinched was 

 thus flattened, and was afterwards prevented from 

 growing thicker. Five radicles had their ends cut 

 off, and served as controls or standards. Eight were 

 pinched ; of these 2 were pinched too severely and 

 their ends died and dropped off ; 2 were not pinched 

 enough and were not sensibly afi'ected ; the remaining 

 4 were pinched suiEciently to check the growth ol 

 the terminal part, but did not appear otherwise injured. 

 When the U-shaped wires were removed, after an 



* ' Arbeiten Bot. Institut., Wiirzburg,' Heft iv. 1874, p. 622. 



