Dec, 1889.] elliott society. 230 



ed that the drops continued to fall during the entire day and night, being 

 greater in number and size during the night. I examined the locality from 

 which the drops appeared to fall in the greatest abundance with a field glass, 

 and saw that the drops, where they could first be seen, were larger in size and 

 less in number, being broken in their fall by the resistance they met in the 

 lower leaves and branches. Although the glass was quite strong, and the lower 

 surface of the leaves could be distinctly seen, the most careful scrutiny failed 

 to reveal any liquid adhering to them. 



The leaves of Oak No. 1 formed a kind of canopy which might cause the en- 

 closed air to have a lower temperature than the surrounding air, and thus cause 

 a condensation of moisture and a falling of the drops. To test this, a large fire 

 was kindled under the tree, which soon raised the temperature of the air seve- 

 ral degrees, but this experiment had no eif ect on the f alhng drops. 



A ladder was procured and a young man volunteered to climb to the top of 

 the tree. By the assistance of the glass he was directed to the locality from 

 which the drops fell in the greatest number, a point about 65 ft. from the 

 ground. He found, intertwining with the branches of the Oak, branches of 

 the grape vine, the leaves of which had fallen, owing to the lateness of the 

 season. After a close search he found a branch, the leaves of which contained 

 a considerable amount of liquid on the upper surface. Passing in all direc- 

 tions, above and below this point, were the branches of the grape vine, which 

 were also moist in certain parts. 



Some of the oak leaves containing the liquid, and some of the moist branch- 

 es of the grape vine were detached and brought down and the liquid found on 

 them compared with the drops on the benches. Their chemical reaction and 

 taste were found to be the same. A closer examination showed that the mois- 

 ture on the grape vine extended, as a rule, about two inches above and below a 

 bud, and that the branches were full of sap although the leaves had already 

 fallen, 



December 9fch, 1889, 2.30 p. m. ; Thermometer 64° ; Barometer, Weather 

 Cloudy. 



The trunk of the grape vine, leading to Cedar No. 2, was cut. Near the cen- 

 tral portion of the top of Oak No. 1, a bottle, «, was attached to a moist 

 branch of the grape vine at a point where a bud grew, and another bottle, h, 

 was fastened to a similar part of another branch. We next cut a branch of the 

 grape vine and passed the root end into a third bottle, c. A fourth bottle, d, 

 was attached to another cut branch of the vine. 



December 10th, 1889, 3.20, p.m. ; Thermometer, 70° ; Barometer, Weather 

 Fair. 



No di-ops could be seen falling or on the benches under Cedar No. 2, where 

 grape vine had been separated from its root. The four bottles and the branch- 

 es to which they were attached were brought down and examined. Bottles a 

 and h contained each about 3 c. c. of a liquid which had the same chemical re- 

 action and taste as the drops found on the leaves and benches. Bottle c was 

 empty, examination showing that it was tied to the wrong end of the cut vine. 



