; LYLOX BRANCH — ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 153 



but one day* This proved pretty satisfactorily that during 

 thunder showers there is something more than mere mois- 

 ture conveyed to the roots of plants. 



Another fact which I observed about the same time was, 

 the great difference in the growth of shoots springing from 

 a bush entirely cut down, and of those growing from a root 

 on which some of the old sticks were left standing. Those 

 in the latter case grew nearly twice as rapidly and luxu- 

 riantly as the former. At first I attributed this to the shade 

 which the few remaining sticks cast upon the young and 

 tender shoots, protecting them to a degree from the scorch- 

 ing mid-day heat. 



To test this I cut down several old bushes close to the 

 ground : to half of them I applied artificial shade, whilst 

 the remainder were left exposed ; but during a period of six 

 weeks I could trace little if any difference in the growth of 

 the two portions of roots thus treated. 



After seeing the result of these two trials it was natural 

 to arrive at the conclusion, that in the rapid growth of this, 

 and of many other plants, there must be some active agency 

 other than either that of moisture or shade. At the time 

 during which these observations were being made electro- 

 agriculture was arresting no small degree of attention in 

 Europe. Great were said to be the results of this new 

 science on productions of the soil, and taking some part, at 

 any rate, of the statement put forth as worthy of credit, it 

 was not too much to expect that within the tropics the de- 

 velopement of electrical matter should be freely manifested, 

 and that consequently its effect, if any, on vegetation should 

 be proportionately great. I caught at the idea that it might 

 be to this agency that the rapid growth of plants after 

 thunder storms should be attributed. We are told that rain 

 water at nearly all times holds in solution various matters 

 not to be found in common river or well water, some portion 

 of which matter is doubtless to be attributed to the elec- 

 tricity of the atmosphere. If the theory be true that a cer- 

 tain portion of electrical matter is essential to the healthy 

 developement of vegetable life, what would be more proba- 

 ble than that not only should the roots absorb a certain 

 quantity in -a state of solution, but that the leaves also 

 should be the means of absorbing a further portion, their 

 points acting as conducters to the fluid. Here would be a 

 ready explanation of the phenomenon observed in connec- 

 tion with the shoots when alone, and of those which grew 



IT 



