7 
the weather at a future period. The views which his further observa- 
tions led him to adopt are contained in his pamphlet, published at Prag 
in 1888, entitled “ J. F. Nowack’s Wetterpflanze, deren Eigenschaften, 
; i ^ he 
“ Witterungs- und Temperatur-Veri: für den Horizont, die 
* Umgebung und Local unbedingt verlásslich und genau 48 Stunden 
** vorher bestimmt werden kann.’ 
Mr. Nowack claims. to be ~ to foretell, 48 hours ahead, the nature 
direction of the wind, and rise or fall in temperature. Further, that 
SAOR F of the advent of earthquakes and of “ Schlagwetter,” (ie. 
ezon capa s of firedamp in coal mines) is given by the plants many days in 
ü 
yee to Mr. Nowack, individual plants of Abrus precatorius fall 
into two physiogical groups; (1) the weather plants proper which he 
speaks of as B- ene aud (2) plants indicating coming changes in 
Nasa dis T-plan 
will now shortly y^ e the chief movements p by these 
plants ant the significance attached to them by 
In the first place it is claimed that if plants of grues be allowed to 
grow sere ong the leaves as they develop will place themselves so 
that their axes lie in the chief planes of the compass N. and S., E. and 
the leaves tend to move back to the four puc points.* It is by 
noticing to which side of a plant any given lea leaf i 
belongs that the direction from which the indicated peara change will 
come is ascertained. : 
The leaves on any healthy plant fall into three categori 
according to their age. The oldest leaves of all indicate weather for the 
immediate loeality only, to a distance of half a mile. Leaves of E 
intermediate age, from 5 to 10 miles ; nii the youngest leaves te 
fo distance as 50 
those which were a short 
and which told the weather for the distant 
ory, and indicate for 
termediate 
ht zone, and MAL ais for the immediate locality. 
indicated by the oldest fone 
The tio véinenté shown by y dii leaves are of two different kinds :— 
1. Movements of the leafle 
2. Movements of the rachis s (midrib). 
As the two sets of phenomena are entirely distinct, and i used by 
Mr. Nowack for different purposes, I will treat of them in 
sections. 
nable to confirm these s — e I 
shoots on many plants. | Hand W. bed 
* Tmay ‘soy at once that I here jw shoots 
but not more to N» Ss 
observed closely the development of 
were developed. nm in various directions, 
to intermediate 
