54 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



Quly 20, 1888. 



leaves having expanded. Five buds of JEscu/us macro- 

 stachya, a kind of horse-chestnut, weighing 85 grams 

 (about 2.\ troy ozs.), gave off 45 c.cm. (about 3 cubic 

 inches) of carbonic gas in 24 hours, the leaves having 

 expanded." And in regard to bursting flower-buds, it 

 has been noted that an orobanche in full bloom used up 

 its own volume of oxygen in 36 hours, or 4"2 c.cm. per 

 grain of substance, corresponding to a loss of 2*26 

 milligrams of carbon. All this chemical action is con- 

 cerned in the production of energy required to do the 

 work of expansion, and. is accompanied by the production 

 of heat that becomes particularly evident in opening 

 flower-buds, which are often quite warm to the touch. 

 Plants like the arum are good examples, because of the 

 crowded flowers and the retention of the heat by the 

 enveloping spathe, a rise of from 4° to io Q above .the 

 temperature of the surrounding air having been regis- 

 tered, whilst a flowering palm has been known to cause 

 a rise of 68° to 92 Fahr. 



With regard to the season of sprouting, it is a most 

 remarkable thing that, as has been shown, although 

 "winter buds" to all appearances are as developed 

 in autumn as in early spring, it is impossible to get 

 them to sprout in autumn or at the beginning of 

 winter. Professor Sachs performed many interesting 

 experiments in this direction, but the earliest he could 

 get them to develop was January or February, by allow- 

 ing the branches to stand in water in an ordinarily 

 warm room. This was likewise the case with bulbs and 

 potatoes, which he could by no means get to grow before 

 February. Such an inability to grow before a certain 

 time can, he points out, be due only to internal changes, as 

 there are no evident external ones; but as yet no change 

 has been observed between the composition of potato tubers 

 in autumn and in early spring, nor in the reserve food 

 materials of the " resting- spores" of such algae and fungi 

 as are subject to the same conditions. Sach's hypothesis 

 is a very probable explanation, and is to the effect that 

 this dormancy is due to a slow production of ferments 

 which are necessary to the vigorous chemical changes 

 consequent on germination or sprouting, and that this 

 formation is favoured by cold or dryness, whilst, where 

 germination and activity in spores and buds take place 

 immediately, it is because these ferments are taken up 

 from the mother-plant. As the production of ferments 

 is now receiving considerable attention, this hypothesis 

 will have a chance of being confirmed or rejected. What- 

 ever be the reason, the provision is an extremely valuable 

 one to plant life, for were trees in the habit of budding 

 in winter, the sap would be frequently frozen in the buds, 

 causing death, an event which often happens when in 

 early spring a few warm days cause certain of the buds 

 to open, only to be killed by a return of the cold. A 

 remarkable instance of premature budding is that given 

 by Gilpin, in his " Forest Scenery," of a famous tree 

 known as the Cadenham Oak, growing near the village 

 of Cadenham, in the New Forest. Some opening buds 

 were sent to him on January 15th, 1782, the leaves being 

 about one inch long, two being expanded from some buds 

 and one from others. The people in the neighbourhood 

 believed that the tree would bud only on old Christinas 

 Day, an idea which is entertained also of the Glastonbury 

 Thorn. The buds soon shrink and die with the frost, and 

 no more leaves are produced until the return of vege- 

 tation. Mr. F. G. Heath confirms Gilpin's statement, 

 and mentions that he found the Cadenham Oak still 

 living in 1879, though possessing only half its trunk, 



which had a girth of about 8£ feet. The same property 

 has been attributed also to other trees. 



In conclusion, as a slightcontribution to the evolutionary 

 side of the subject, a few words concerning what is termed 

 "bud-variation " may not be out of place. Sometimes 

 certain buds will develop in a manner different from 

 that of others on the same plant. It occurs in two 

 different ways, each of which has a different import. In 

 one case the abnormal shoot produced by a variety 

 reverts to the original form ; e.g., in the Botanic Garden 

 of Munich there is a beech with divided leaves. This is 

 a backward step. In the other case, new features appear 

 on certain shoots of a plant, as in the myrtle, where 

 single shoots produce their leaves in alternating whorls, 

 instead of in the customary alternate pairs, whilst the 

 branches produced from the axils of these leaves exhibit 

 the ordinary form. This variation must not be confused 

 with such irregularities as differences in the same plant 

 between the sizes and numbers of leaves, flowers, and 

 fruits, which are the result of excessive or deficient nutri- 

 tion, of a full or an insufficient exposure to air and light. 

 These changes are not hereditary, and do not occur in.the 

 descendants of such plants when subject to normal con- 

 ditions. 



-"-^t^^is^ 



Asbestos to Promote Filtration. — Viscid liquids, 

 such as are obtained in processes of artificial diges- 

 tion, may be filtered, according to W. Fresenius 

 (Zfsc/i f. Anal. Chem.), by the aid of finely picked 

 asbestos fibre. Not only is the filtration of such fluids 

 exceedingly slow, but the filtrate often passes turbid, 

 even through paper of the closest texture. To filter such 

 a fluid, Fresenius advises to dilute with water, at' J some 

 recently ignited asbestos, and shake the mixture vigor- 

 ously. After about twelve hours the suspended matters 

 will have subsided, leaving the supernatant liquid per- 

 fectly clear. This is to be syphoned off, and the residue 

 to be washed once or twice by decantation, and then 

 passed through a glass funnel, the neck of which contains 

 a pellet of asbeslos. If the first part of the filtrate runs 

 off cloudy, it is returned to the funnel until it passes 

 clear. 



The Smith Observatory, Geneva, N.Y. — By the 

 liberality of Mr. William Smith, of Geneva, a first-class 

 astronomical observatory has been established at that 

 place, fully equipped with instruments of the highest 

 standard, to be known as the Smith Observatory. 

 Professor Wm. R. Brooks, who is well known for 

 his contributions to astronomical science from the Red 

 House Observatory at Phelps, N.Y., has removed to 

 Geneva, N.Y., where he will in future carry on his 

 astronomical work, under more favourable auspices, as 

 director of the new Smith Observatory. The many 

 valuable discoveries in astronomy heretofore made by 

 Prof. Phelps not only attest his competency and inde- 

 fatigability, but afford the best promise of success in his 

 new location. 



Influence of Forests in Australia. — According to 

 Dr. K. V. Lendenfield (Pctennanii's Mitthcilungcii), the 

 influence of forests upon the climate of Australia is the 

 reverse of that which they are supposed to exert in 

 Europe. While European trees retain much of the water 

 among their roots, the trees of the Australian wastes 

 send their roots to great depths in search of water, and 

 open their stomata only at night. 



