No. 387.] PLANT MORPHOLOGY AND'PHYSIOLOGY. 207 
(2) The process of germination is accelerated by electricity. 
(3) Electrical stimuli give rise to an acceleration in the growth 
of the plant. 
(4) Electrically stimulated plants do not respond immediately to 
the influence of the current. The latent period following stimulation 
is equal to about 25 minutes, or, in other words, it is about the same 
as that for heliotropic and geotropic stimuli. 
(5) The reaction of the plant to electrical stimulation is confined 
to a narrow range in the current intensity. The plant reaction is 
manifested either in an acceleration or retardation of its metabolic 
activities; the nature of the response depends entirely upon the 
nature of the strength of the current employed. 
(6) There is a minimum, optimum, cessation, and maximum stim- 
ulus. 
(7) The excitation produced by alternating currents is more marked 
than that produced by direct currents. 
(8) The increase of stimulus necessary to produce an equally 
noticeable difference of perception bears a constant ratio to the total 
stimulus intensity; the relationship existing between the perception 
and stimulus is expressed by the ratio 1:3 (Weber’s law). i 
Dr. C. O. TownsEND: Germination of Spores after Long Exposure 
to Distilled Water. — Spores of Mucor, Penicillium, and other fungi 
were placed in test-tubes which had been partly filled with distilled 
water. Some of the test-tubes were placed in the open air so that 
the spores were subjected to the changes in temperature incident to 
the changes of weather from day to day as well as to the changes in 
temperature between day and night. Other test-tubes were kept at a 
nearly constant temperature of 18° in diffused light; others at the 
same temperature were kept in the dark, and still others at 25° in 
the light. The vitality of these spores was tested from time to time 
by placing them upon a gelatine-sugar mixture in damp chambers. 
So long as the spores, which were exposed to external conditions, 
did not freeze, they retained their ability to germinate in the usual 
time — from 12 to 16 hours. After they had been frozen, however, 
they did not germinate under the conditions used. The other 
spores under investigation retained their ability to germinate for 
about six months. The time required for germination after the 
spores were placed upon the gelatine-sugar mixture did not materially 
change during this period. It should also be noted that the growth 
of the mycelia, as well as the ability of the fungi to form new spores, 
