ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
447 
Bessey concludes that the normal function of stomates is respiration, 
and that the loss of water through them is incidental and secondary.* * * § 
Transpiration in a Moist Tropical Climate.*— Replying to the 
criticisms of Stahl, Burgersiein, and Giltay,j" on his conclusions on this 
subject, Herr G. Haberlandt adduces the result of fresh experiments 
in support of his previous contention that in a moist tropical climate 
the amount of transpiration is considerably less than in the climate of 
Central Europe. Saturation of the air with moisture greatly diminishes 
transpiration, even in direct sunlight. 
(3) Irritability. 
Movements of the Sensitive Plant in Water.f — M. G. Bonnier has 
■observed the following phenomena in plants of Mimosa pudica developed 
entirely under water : — They continue to display the alternate move- 
ments of sleep and waking, and those of irritation, but the waking 
period is longer than in the case of plants under normal conditions. 
The extent of these movements is less, and they are transmitted less 
rapidly. They present no important modification in their tissues, except 
in the development of the vascular bundles, in the size of the vessels, 
and in the development of the motor cushions, all of which are greatly 
reduced. These facts confirm the view that the organs which play the 
greatest part both in producing and in transmitting the movements of 
the sensitive plant are the vascular bundles. 
Sensitive Cushions of Phaseolus and Oxalis.§— From experiments 
on Phaseolus multiflorus and on several species of Oxalis , Prof. S. 
-Schwendener is able to affirm the existence of the same phenomena in 
the sensitive cushions of these genera as in those of Mimosa , viz. that 
the upper and lower halves of the cushions react in opposite ways 
towards changes in the light. Darkness causes an increase of turgor in 
ihe upper, a decrease in the lower half of the cushion. 
Relationship of Secondary Roots to the Vertical. |] — From observa- 
tions on the seedlings of various plants — Phaseolus multiflorus , Pisum 
sativum , Vicia Faba, Lupinus luteus, Cucurbita Pepo — Herr A. Schober 
confirms the statement of Czapek that secondary roots do not, as a rule, 
retain their vertical direction of growth ; but he does not regard this as 
a tendency towards an upward growth ; it is simply a curvature from 
the vertical. 
(4) Chemical Changes (including Respiration and Fermentation). : 
Ripening of Fleshy Fruits.^]" — M. C. Gerber discusses in great detail 
the chemical changes which take place in the maturing of fleshy fruits. 
At certain phases of their development they disengage a volume of 
* Jahrb. f. wiss. Bot. (Pfeffer u. Strasburger), xxxi. (1S97) pp. 273-88. Cf. this 
Journal, 1897, p. 312. 
t Cf. this Journal, 1897, p. 556. 
j Comptes Rendus, cxxvi. (1898) pp. 1001-7. 
§ SB. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1898, pp. 176-81 (1 pi.) Cf. this journal, 
1897, p. 558. ]| Bot. Ztg., lvi. (1898) l ta Abt., pp. 1-8 (1 pi.). 
5 Ann. Sci. Nat. (Bot.), iv. (1897) pp. 1-280 (2 pis.). 
