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president’s address. 
wonder at the odd behaviour of twisting tendrils, hut all this fails 
to satisfy the lover of plant life, and he only gets a half satisfac- 
tion. It becomes, therefore, more interesting to dive deeper into 
the secrets of Nature, and to gain some knowledge of the interior 
working of the plant organism, how it is built up, by what means 
it is nourished, and what hidden forces there are at work con- 
trolling its growth and development, and under what influences 
the branches and twigs acquire their various curvatures. All this 
physiology teaches ; and although much has been accomplished, 
yet as to the causation of the various phenomena witnessed, abso- 
lutely nothing is known. We see results, but cannot fathom the 
how and the Avherefore they are brought about. All that is known, 
is that the different impulses have their mysterious origin in the 
living protoplasm. A great stimulus to the further study of both 
animal and plant physiology was given by the publication of 
Virchow’s great work on ‘ Cell Pathology,’ and by the writings of 
Weissman and others. One great discovery also contributed more 
than anything to the bringing to light minute organisms and the 
unravelling of complex structures ; I refer to the aniline dyes, for 
it has only been by means of various staining liquids that accurate 
knowledge has been obtained. All work now centres in the cell, 
which may be regarded as the embodiment of the whole structure 
and physiological attributes of the adult organism. Minute as a 
cell is, yet as compared with atoms and electrons, which by the 
discovery of radium have been proved to be actual particles, it 
stands out as a gigantic mass, itself made up of atoms. By the 
use of stains, and under the highest powers of the microscope, 
all its wonderful contents have been brought to light and a physio- 
logical importance given to the organs it contains that years ago 
was not dreamt of. The fertilized ovule contains, in embryo, the 
elements that go to build up the future plant, and at the same time 
embraces all the physiological characters that mark the difference 
between one plant and another ; yet under the highest power of 
the microscope there is absolutely no difference between the 
oospore of a grain of wheat and that of an acorn. 
The fundamental substance of all organic matter, whether animal 
