ANIMATED PHOTOGRAPHS OF PLANTS. 



49 



An ordinary cinematograph picture reproduces rapid movements of 

 living objects. The purpose of my pictures is to show at an accelerated 

 speed sloiu movements which cannot be watched by the eye, such as the 

 growth of the young plant from the seed, the opening of a flower and 

 development of the fruit, the movements of a climbing plant, &c. 



Thus I have been able, by taking photographs at uniform intervals 

 throughout the day during many weeks, to show these photographs in a 

 cinematograph,* so that the growth and movements of the plant made 

 during these weeks can pass before the eyes in a few seconds. After 

 a warm rain we often say that we can almost see our plants growing ; 

 by means of this adaptation of the cinematograph we literally can. 



At the end of this Paper will be found a list of the slides shown. I 

 have had a reproduction made of one of the plates — that of the Fuchsia — 

 and propose to give a more detailed description of this. 



In fig. 4 we see a photograph of the whole plate holding 350 photo- 

 graphs. This represents three weeks' work. The plate was begun on 

 March 22 at 7.30 a.m. The small bud was chosen and carefully placed in 

 the upper part of the field, so as to allow for its growing in size as the 

 flower developed. Photographs of it were then taken at regular intervals. 

 For each photograph an actinometer reading had to be made, as they are 

 photographed at all times of day, and the variation in light is enormous. 

 The early morning and evening photographs were taken by artificial light, 

 an incandescent methylated spirit lamp being used. 



Gradually the bud grows in length, drops as it grows heavier, swells. 

 After a week cracks appear between the sepals, and the latter suddenly 

 separate, the dark-red corolla begins to appear, the sepals curve upwards, 

 the first four stamens grow out below the corolla and burst, then the 

 second whorl of stamens grows out and bursts open, then the style grows 

 down and lengthens ; after nearly another week the petals fall off, then the 

 sepals, and we have nothing left but the young fruit. 



Theoretically I ought to have been able to continue the photographs 

 until the fruit ripened and became a berry, but here the limitations of 

 my machine come in, as each plate will only hold 350 photographs. 



The plate is developed exactly as one would develop an ordinary 

 photographic plate : a positive plate is printed from it, and it is ready to 

 be put into the machine and thrown on the screen. 



Then we can actually see the bud swell and open, and can watch the 

 progress of the flower till it becomes a fruit ; thus we are able to watch 

 what the eye unassisted could never see. 



Still more curious are the movements which reveal themselves by means 

 of this method. We see the stamens gradually moving outwards away 

 from the style, and the bud is seen during the whole time to have a 

 curious pendulum movement, for which as yet I have no explanation to 

 offer. 



Another use to which I have put my machine is to show the move- 

 ments of climbing plants. One plate shows a Mexican climber, Maurandya, 



* The cinematograph used for this work was invented by Mr. Iglamm, 27 Powell 

 Street, Goswell Road, E.G., and is called the "kammatograph." I am much indebted 

 to him for the kind help which he gave in adapting his apparatus to my special 

 purpose. 



£ 



