30 
Newcombe, Sensitive Life of Asparagus plumosus. 
90°, radius about 5 cm. It had not twined. On 7th day, tip in 
arc of about 67 °, but no twining’. Observations were continned 
on tkis preparation for a total of 21 days, during wbicb tbe sboot 
made a growth of 108.5 cm, reaching a total bight tbereforo of 
143.5 cm. Observations were made from once to 15 times a day, 
Tbere was no twining. The most of tke time, the tip nutated 
between the vertical and 90° below the vertical, often holding a 
declination ot45° below the vertical for a day. For the most of the 
time, however, the tip was in motion in both vertical and horizontal 
planes. These movements were followed by observations at in- 
tervals of 15 minutes for several hours on each of 3 days, and 
for shorter times on other days, in Order to determiue the character 
of the movements. The movements constituted irregulär nntation, 
not circumnutation. Of course, if they had been circumnutation, 
the shoot would have twined, provided the tip was kept close 
enough to the stäke, and the diameter of the Circuit was great 
enough to carry the tip about the stäke. Both of the last-named 
conditions were fulfilled: Tho the tendency of the tip was to grow 
off at an angle with the vertical — an angle of 15° to 45° — 
and the tip sometimes was found 6 cm in horizontal distance from 
the stäke, the tip was frequently brot back to the vicinity of the 
stäke by loosely looping a cord around stäke and shoot 5 to 10 cm 
back from the tip of the shoot. Several times when the inclined 
tip was seen to be moving horizontally, the flank, a centimeter or 
two back of the apex, was brot against the stäke so that a con- 
tinuation of the movement would carry the tip around the stäke; 
but the tip never continued long enough in the same direction to 
make a complete Circuit. Several times the tip had risen to the 
vertical direction and remained for hours in the orthotropic position. 
When the cylinder wasremoved from the plant at the end of the 
experiment, the shoot showed a fairly straight stem with no coils, 
and no appendages except the nodal scales. 
3) A shoot, 2 meters long and without any bränches, that 
had wandered over the ground and among other plants in the same 
bed without Unding any support to twine about was buried in earth 
40 cm from its apex, and the distal portion brot upright and tied 
to a thin bamboo stäke. After 24 hours, the shoot had made one 
and four-fifths turns about the stäke. It was now covered with 
an opaque cylinder, and observed from day to day for 8 days. For 
3 days the shoot continued to twine, making in all four and three- 
fourths turns about the stäke. Düring these 3 da} 7 s, the tip of 
the shoot approached nearer and nearer the vertical, straightening 
its arch, and thus narrowing the path of circumnutation and making 
a steeper coil than at the beginning of the period. For the last 
5 days there was no more twining. The tip rose parallel with the 
stäke, adding 9 cm to its length in these last 5 days. No bränches 
were developed up to the conclusion of the observations. 
4) A shoot that had already twined about a vertical cord, 
making a spiral 47.8 cm long, was covered by an opaque cylinder. 
This shoot was beginning to unf'old lateral bränches 30 cm below 
