CEYLON BRANCH— ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 155 



when there was evidently much electrical matter in the at- 

 mosphere, but no change was perceptible in the appearance 

 of the bushes until about the end of the third month, when 

 a square patch of them at one extremity of the enclosure 

 was observed to be withering away : at last most of the 

 sticks on these bushes seemed dying and shed their leaves. 

 On an examination it was discovered that a portion of the 

 wire which had been sunk in the earth, had been stolen 

 from immediately opposite the space on which these bushes 

 were thus drooping. The loss was made good but to little 

 purpose, for at no great distance from the experimental acre 

 a native footway crossed the garden and the passengers con- 

 tinually stole portions of the wire although of course, of 

 little value, and this in spite of watching. The experiment 

 was at length removed to a more secluded part of the es- 

 tate, but to this date no perceptible effect has been discover- 

 ed on the bushes. 



As far, therefore, as these small and doubtless unskilful 

 experiments are concerned, nothing has been proved as re- 

 gards the effect of electricity on vegetable life, the only 

 remarkable feature in them being the withering of the 

 bushes opposite the break in the metal square. 



It would not be just, however, to condemn a theory test- 

 ed only by one or two small experiments, and it is to be 

 wished that my hope in reading this short paper may be 

 fulfilled, that of inducing some others to carry on a few 

 more experiments of a like nature. 



