344 



J. J. SKINNER 



which olive and ahnond oil are used. The oil is odorless and 

 does not become rancid. The seed is also used as food, to a 

 certain extent. The sesame plant is an annual, the stem grow- 

 ing to be four to five feet high, bearing leaves which vary in 

 shape and size. The leaves abound in gummy matter, which 

 they readily impart to water, forming a rich mucilage. The ex- 

 tract of the leaves has some medicinal value. It is interesting to 

 note that the soil contained substances of an oily nature, and 

 that this soil would not produce certain crops. 



The action of the oily substance on plants was tested and the 

 results are given below. The physiological effect of the oily ma- 



Fig. 1. Cultures showing the effect of oily matter, extracted from sesame soil, 

 on j'oung cabbage plants. (Nos. 1 and 2, nutrient solution. Nos. 3 and 4, nu- 

 trient solution plus oily material.) 



terial isolated was tested on young cabbage plants and wheat 

 seedlings. These experiments were made by growing the plants 

 in a nutrient solution of calcium acid-phosphate, sodium nitrate, 

 and potassium sulphate. Two cultures, with cabbage plants, 

 grew in the nutrient solutions, and two in nutrient solution con- 

 taining the oily matter isolated from the soil. A similar ex- 

 periment was made by growing wheat plants in the culture 

 solutions. 



The oil had an inhibitive effect upon the cabbage plants in so- 



