"Drawn" Plants 



ing the water from the strong solution acts exactly as 

 an actual lack of water does, and produces precisely 

 the same symptoms. If through inadvertence too 

 much of a fertiliser has been used, the best thing to 

 do is to water freely ; if the plant is in a pot, stand 

 the pot in a considerable volume of water for a time 

 so as to wash the excess out, taking care that aU 

 excess of water is drained away when the pot is re- 

 moved from the vessel in which it has been standing. 



Excess of water combined with a rather high 

 temperature leads, just as excess of nitrogen does, to 

 the production of sappy unprofitable growth, less 

 dark green, however, than nitrogen-forced growth. 

 When these two conditions combine with deficiency 

 of fight, or when light is deficient and only a moderate 

 supply of water and heat are available, a diseased 

 condition known as etiolation is produced. 



In extreme cases, such as can be seen in the stems 

 of a potato allowed to grow in darkness, no green 

 colour at all is developed, the f oHage fails to broaden, 

 and the stems become greatly elongated, sappy, and 

 lacking in woody fibre. When less marked the plants 

 show aU these symptoms to a slighter extent and 

 are said to be " drawn." The " drawing " is seen 

 •in window plants on one side, and has the result of 

 turning the f ofiage so that it can get the whole of the 

 Hght available. This kind of " drawing " can be 

 avoided by frequent turning of the pots so that all 

 sides of the plant are equally illuminated in turn. 



35 



