Concluding Remarks on the Action of Acids.—It is evident that acids have a strong tendency to cause the inflection of the tentacles;* for out of the twenty-four acids tried, nineteen thus acted, either rapidly and energetically, or slowly and slightly. This fact is remarkable, as the juices of many plants contain more acid, judging by the taste, than the solutions employed in my experiments. From the powerful effects of so many acids on Drosera, we are led to infer that those naturally contained in the tissues of this plant, as well as of others, must play some important part in their economy. Of the five cases in which acids did not cause the tentacles to be inflected, one is doubtful; for uric acid did act slightly, and caused a copious secretion of mucus. Mere sourness to the taste is no * According to M. Fournier (‘De la Fcondation dans les Phanrogames.’ 1863, p. 61) drops of acetic, hydrocyanic, and sulphuric acid cause the stamens of Berberis instantly to close; though drops of water have no such power, which latter statement I can confirm; [page 197] criterion of the power of an acid on Drosera, as citric and tartaric acids are very sour, yet do not excite inflection. It is remarkable how acids differ in their power. Thus, hydrochloric acid acts far less powerfully than hydriodic and many other acids of the same strength, and is not poisonous. This is an interesting fact, as hydrochloric acid plays so important a part in the digestive process of animals. Formic acid induces very slight inflection, and is not poisonous; whereas its ally, acetic acid, acts rapidly and powerfully, and is poisonous. Malic acid acts slightly, whereas citric and tartaric acids produce no effect. Lactic acid is poisonous, and is remarkable from inducing inflection only after a considerable interval of time. Nothing surprised me more than that a solution of benzoic acid, so weak as to be hardly acidulous to the taste, should act with great rapidity and be highly poisonous; for I am informed that it produces no marked effect on the animal economy. It may be seen, by looking down the list at the head of this discussion, that most of the acids are poisonous, often highly so. Diluted acids are known to induce negative osmose,* and the poisonous action of so many acids on Drosera is, perhaps, connected with this power, for we have seen that the fluids in which they were immersed often became pink, and the glands pale-coloured or white. Many of the poisonous acids, such as hydriodic, benzoic, hippuric, and carbolic (but I neglected to record all the cases), caused the secretion of an extraordinary amount of mucus, so that long ropes of this matter hung from the leaves when they were lifted out of the solutions. Other acids, such as hydrochloric and malic, have no such ten- * Miller’s ‘Elements of Chemistry,’ part i. 1867, p. 87. [page 198]