ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
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and nyctitropic movements of the floral organs. As regards the foliar 
organs of the flower, they can, of course, occur only where these persist 
till the ripening of the fruit, and do not always even in these cases. A 
very large number of instances are adduced by the author. It is not 
uncommon to find, in the same genus, some species the calyx of which 
displays carpotropic movements, and others nearly allied, where it is 
wanting, as in the genera Bubus , Bosa, and Botentilla. In some cases 
these carpotropic movements are simply passive, while in others they 
depend on growth, and are the result of epinasty and hyponasty. The 
burying of some fruits in the soil while they are ripening is the result 
of carpotropic movements of the fruit-stalk. 
Influence of Gravitation on the Sleep-movements of Leaves.* — 
Herr A. Koch finds, in the trifoliolate leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris , a 
nyctitropic elevation of the leaf-stalk amounting to about 15°, and 
depression of the lamina to the extent of from 70° to 120°. By experi- 
menting with the clinostat, he found that rotation round a horizontal 
axis entirely prevented this nyctitropic movement, or at least reduced it 
to a minimum. The same was the case also with Phaseolus multiflorus , 
P. tumidus, Lupinus albus, and Gossypium arboreum. With other plants, 
on the other hand, which exhibit nyctitropic movements — e. g. Trifolium 
pratense, Portulaca sativa, Cassia marylandica, Goodia obtusifolia, Oxalis 
lasiandra, and Acacia lophantha , the removal of the action of gravitation by 
horizontal rotation produced no change in these movements. We have 
therefore two classes of nyctitropic plants ; for the first the author 
proposes the term geo-nyctitropic, for the second and more numerous class, 
auto-nyctitropic. 
Heliotropism and Geotropism in Mosses.^ — M. E. Bastit shows, 
from the result of experiments on Poly trichum juniperinum, that the 
phenomena of heliotropism and geotropism manifest themselves in 
Mosses in the same way as in the higher plants. When grown either in 
air or in water, the heliotropic influence on the growth of the stem of 
Mosses exceeds that of geotropism ; the stem always directs its growth 
towards the light, whatever may be the position of the source of 
illumination. 
(4) Chemical Changes (including Respiration and Fermentation). 
Influence of Anaesthetics on Assimilation and Transpiration.^ — In 
confirmation of his previous views with regard to the relationship 
between assimilation and transpiration, M. H. Jumelle finds that 
anaesthetics increase transpiration in plants exposed to light, when the 
dose is sufficient to suspend respiration. This increase is due to the 
action of the ether on the chi orophy 11-bodies. When, by any means, 
assimilation is arrested without suppressing the absorption of the rays of 
heat by the chlorophyll, all the energy of these rays is transferred to 
transpiration, and accelerates it. 
* Bot. Ztg., xlviii. (1890) pp. 673-83, 689-701, 705-18. 
t Comptes Rendus, cxi. (1890) pp. 841-3. 
i Rev. Gen. de Bot. (Bonnier), ii. (1890) pp. 417-3 2 (1 pl.) ; and Comptes 
Rendus, cxi. (1890) pp. 461-3. Cf. this Journal, 1889, p. 669. 
