Life Movements in Plants, Volume IBose, Jagadis Chandra
Science
Life Movements in Plants, Volume I
Bose, Jagadis Chandra
Growth (Plants); Plants -- Irritability and movements
The only way of removing the complication arising from thermal
radiation lies in varying the temperature condition of the plant, by
direct contact with water at different temperatures. This procedure
will also remove uncertainty regarding the body of the plant assuming
the temperature of surrounding non-conducting air. The disturbing
effect of sudden variation of temperature is also obviated by a
more uniform regulation of rise of temperature. The inner cylinder
containing the plant is filled with water; heat from gradually warmed
water in the outer cylinder is conducted across the inner cylinder made
of thin copper and raises the temperature of the water contained in the
inner cylinder with great uniformity. A clock-hand goes round once in
a minute; the experimenter, keeping his hand on the stop-cock, adjusts
the rate of rise of water in the inner cylinder, so that there is a
rise, say, of one-tenth of a degree every 6 seconds or of one degree
every minute. The mass of water acts as a governor, and prevents any
sudden fluctuations of temperature. The adoption of this particular
device eliminated the erratic changes in the rate of growth that had
hitherto proved so baffling.
The elongation recorded by the Crescograph will now be made up of (1)
physical expansion, (2) expansion brought about by absorption of water,
and (3) the pure acceleration of growth. The disentanglement of these
different elements presented many difficulties. I was, however, able to
find out the relative values of the first two factors in reference to
the elongation of growth. This was done by carrying out a preliminary
experiment with a specimen of plant in which growth had been completed.
It was raised through 20°C in temperature, records being taken both
at the beginning and at the end. This was for obtaining a measure of
the physical change due to temperature, and also of the change brought
about by absorption of water. I should state here that for the method
of continuous record of growth which I contemplated, the record had to
be taken for about 18 minutes. The magnification had to be lowered to
250 times to keep the record within the plate. With this magnification,
the fully grown specimen did not show in the record a change even of
1 mm. in length in 18 minutes, while the growing plant under similar
circumstances exhibited an elongation of 100 mm. or more. In records
taken with low magnification, the effect of physical change is quite
negligible.
DETERMINATION OF THE CARDINAL POINTS OF GROWTH.
The cardinal points of growth are not the same in different plants;
they are modified in the same species by the climate to which the
plants are habituated; the results obtained in the tropics may thus
be different from those obtained in colder climates. At the time of
the experiment, the prevailing temperature at Calcutta in day time was
about 30°C.
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