INFLUENCE OF SUGARS ON THE GROWTH OF ALBINO PLANTS 405 
In this experiment the plants suppHed with sugar showed a very appre- 
ciable gain in weight, while those grown in Pfeffer's solution alone showed 
the usual loss. ' Furthermore, the leaves of albino plants supplied with 
sugar lived until April 25, while the plants without sugar showed death 
of leaves on March 25. 
General Discussion. In view of the fact that glucose or sucrose is gener- 
ally considered to be the first sugar product in photosynthesis, it seemed 
reasonable to expect that the addition of one of these sugars to the culture 
solution would permit a considerable growth of the albino seedlings. The 
expectations were, however, in no way realized. An appreciable increase in 
growth was noted when sugar was available to the plant, and the albino 
plants supplied with sugar produced from five to seven leaves each, while the 
check plants possessed only two or three leaves each. Furthermore, in 
the water-culture experiments the plants supplied with sugar lived about a 
month longer than did the plants not supplied with sugar. In the tube- 
culture experiments there was little difference in the duration of life of 
different cultures. 
The difference in length of life between the sugar and the non-sugar cul- 
tures in the two types of cultures is explainable in part by the higher con- 
centration of sugar in the water cultures and by the higher temperatures 
prevailing in the greenhouse at the time when the water-culture experi- 
ments were rhade. In tube cultures, furthermore, the rate of growth is 
relatively slower than in water cultures. 
The failure of albino plants to make a sustained growth and to show 
marked increase in weight when supplied with sugar is probably explain- 
able by the inability of the plant to absorb sugar rapidly, and in part also 
by the relatively slow rate of conduction. This hypothesis is strengthened 
by the fact that even after the leaves are dead the roots may continue to 
live, and that, if supplied with sugar, the roots may be alive several months 
after the roots of the check plants are dead. It is possible that if a greater 
concentration of sugar be used, more beneficial results may be obtained; 
but certainly it is not possible greatly to exceed the concentration employed 
in the experiment, which was 0.20 gram molecular. 
Laboratory of Plant Physiology, 
Cornell University 
LITERATURE CITED 
1. Knudson, L. Influence of certain carbohydrates on green plants. Cornell Univ. Agr. 
Expt. Sta. Mem. 9: 1-75, 1916. 
2. Knudson, L., and Smith, R. S. On the secretion of amylase by plant roots. Bot. 
Gaz. 58 (not yet in print). 1919. 
3. Lindstrom, E. W. Chlorophyll inheritance in maize. Cornell Univ. Agr. Expt. Sta. 
Mem. 13: 1-68. 1918. 
4. Wilson, J. K. Calcium hypochlorite as a seed sterilizer. Amer. Journ. Bot. 2: 420-427. 
1915- 
