Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  i  Relations  of  Plants  to  Distilled  Water.  553 
December,  1915.  J  J 
had  found  them  very  sensitive  to  distilled  water.  Schulze  ('91), 
however,  after  several  years  of  experience  with  Lupinus  luteus, 
claimed  that  distilled  water  produced  no  toxic  effects  upon  those 
plants. 
Both  before  and  after  the  appearance  of  the  recent  contribution 
by  True  just  referred  to,  I  carried  on  the  investigations  reported 
in  this  paper,  which,  as  previously  stated,  are  but  preliminary  in  their 
nature,  but  which  have  given  indications  leading  to  the  conception  of 
an  idea  differing  somewhat  from  the  majority  of  those  above  men- 
tioned regarding  the  relation  between  plants  and  distilled  water. 
This  conception  will  be  briefly  mentioned  here,  while  the  evidence 
and  a  further  discussion  will  be  given  later ;  it  is  that  pure  distilled 
water  is  not  harmful  or  injurious  per  se,  but  that  because  of  the  static 
condition  forced  upon  them  as  a  consequence  of  the  absence  of  plant 
food,  the  growing  cells  become  disorganized  and  thus  become  easy 
prey  to  bacterial  and  fungous  action.  Excretion  of  electrolytes  does 
occur  but  this  should  be  considered  merely  as  a  concomitant  condi- 
tion, or  resulting  effect  of  the  conditions  under  which  the  plants  are 
placed,  and  should  not  be  considered  as  a  cause  of  degeneration 
unless  the  electrolytes  themselves  be  toxic. 
III.  Methods. 
{Germination,  Culture  and  Conductivity.) 
Canada  field  peas  (Pisum  sativum)  and  horse  beans  (Viciafaba), 
the  small  variety,  were  the  plants  selected,  as  both  were  known  to  be 
well  adapted  for  growth  in  solution  cultures.  Of  the  various  methods 
of  seed  sterilization  tried  out,  the  one  in  which  the  seeds  were 
treated  with  1-600  formalin- water  for  15  minutes  after  being  soaked 
for  24  hours  in  running  water  gave  best  satisfaction. 
For  germinating  the  seeds  a  modification  of  the  method  used  by 
Boussingault  ('74),  and  also  by  various  investigators  in  the  Bureau  of 
Soils,  was  employed.  This  consisted  in  the  use  of  ordinary 
enameled-ware  pans  about  12  inches  in  diameter  and  3  inches  in 
height,  filled  with  tap  water  and  covered  with  6  X  6-mesh  galvan- 
ized iron  "  hardware  cloth,"  on  which  the  previously  soaked  and 
sterilized  seeds  were  placed.  The  seeds  were  then  covered  with  filter 
paper  or  paper  towelling  which  was  kept  moist  throughout  the  ger- 
mination process  or  until  the  radicles  reached  the  water  below.  The 
germination  was  carried  on  in  the  greenhouse.    In  the  course  of  four 
