6 
18? Reaumur, these being the conditions under which, in temperate 
climates, Nowack’s weather plant answers the purpose of a weather 
indicator, substantially as described and illustrated,”. HD 
Report on OssEnvATIONs made in the RoYAL GARDENS, KEW, upon 
. NowAck's WEATHER PLANT 
The plant 44 órus eee Linn., is a well-known tropical weed. 
a native of India, it is now widely dispersed in tropical 
regions, including Mauritius, the West Indies, &c. It isa Y eoe 
plant, with the habit of a shrubby climber. In the case of the 
used by Mr. Nowack, the young rapidly-growing shoots were at in 
before requiring any support. Thus the production of lateral shoots and 
foliage was stimulate 
The seeds of Abrus “precator ius are well-known as *' crab’s-eyes,” and 
are used all over the world for decorative tad In India wea 
are called rati, and are largely used by gold miris as weights, eac 
weighing about 12 grains. lt is ut tin the famous Kohinoor 
diamond was first weighed by the word which is indeed 
— "as soe given — to the jewellers s carat (Kérat, Arab.). 
ess when eaten, but rapidly produce 
fatal ve iate c ihucdméed beneath the kin: even in small quantity. 
They are used criminally in India in * Sui” poisoning, the object being 
to obtain the skins of the poisoned domestic animals. The poisonous 
action is due to the action of a proteid, , 
'The leaves of the plant are two to three inches long, with 10 to 15 
pairs of shortly stalked leaflets. The texture of the latter is very delicate 
and membranous; the surfaces glabrou 
At the point of insertion of each leaf o on the stem is a ey meos 
joi int or? pulvinus.and 
pulvinus at its point of insertion on the main rachis. The r rac shiv as 
well as the leaflets perform considerable movements both vertically and 
laterally on their pulvini. It is with these movements that the bulk of 
this report is concerned, as on down Mr. Nowack bases his various 
weather ee and barometric charts 
The leaves are arranged on stem alternately with for the most 
part a aivátges of 4, but since in its development a leaf generally 
bends round through an angle varying from a few degrees to as much 
as 90°, it is found on an adult shoot that the leaves point in various 
poe es They spread themselves so as to obtain the most favourable 
pee a This point is of some importance and will be referred 
to 
I refrain from introducing histological details, But the mode of 
secondary increase in the thickness of the stem is peculiar and abnormal, 
as in many plants of climbing habit. The leaves, however, and the motile 
organs, the yop do not differ in an character or manner from the 
alion did not depend on the immediate external conditions, Mr. 
Nowack soon satisfied himself. His observations su to him the 
existence of some connexion between the movements and the state of 
