228 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



commence with. It is therefore simply a diminution and 

 not a reversal of its geotropic irritability which has taken 

 place. Similarly with Haricots planted after 5 days 

 immersion in water, the radicle of one of the seeds which 

 was directed upwards, grew up without bending for a 

 length of H inches, then growing over an inch above 

 ground when its growth stopped and it began to wither. 

 The diminution of the geotropic irritability of the radicle 

 seems to be rapidly followed by its death, for on planting 

 Peas after immersion in alcohol, etc., for different periods, 

 with the radicle directed upwards it is only in a few cases 

 about 1 per cent., that any diminution of the geotropic 

 irritability of the radicles can be made out to have taken 

 place. The reason for this is that when the vitality of the 

 radicle is so much diminished that its geotropic irritability 

 is also affected, the total cessation of its vitality is not far 

 off. Hence for the most part the radicles either do not 

 develop at all or if they do bend downwards normally. 



One effect of planting Peas with the radicles pointing 

 upwards is that their growth in length is slightly retarded. 

 Thus two batches of 50 normal Peas were planted, one set 

 with the radicles directed upwards, the other with it 

 directed downwards. The same number, 47, of each 

 germinated and on measuring the radicles a week after 

 planting, the total length of the radicles of the former was 

 140 inches, of the latter 159 J inches. No such effect is 

 produced upon the plumules, their total lengths being 

 about the same in both cases. In measuring the curved 

 portions of both radicle and plumule the length of the 

 middle line of the side of the curved portion was taken, 

 this being the mean between the lengths of the convex 

 and concave side. 



In certain cases it was noticed that the roots developed 

 from seeds which had been immersed in alcohol for 2 or 



