eae

oa EERIE RS

eae “iar rae se

ee
a ’ 43 a > ,

mir

8
vit

.

Sac
et a

3
ayeth

iy

oe

Oa}

x
‘

>
dike

:
Ce eas

atptatyeatit

if

1 26S LIBRARY OF a7} !
p> THENEW YORK BOTANICAL ani 2

=F 4) Sh
Seeks SN i ear: bson- Inve mre Ss.

GERMINATION

GERMINATION

ITS ELECTRICAL ASPECT

A CONSECUTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGICAT,

PROCESSES CONCERNED IN EVOLUTION, FROM THE FORMATION

OF THE POLLEN-GRAIN, TO THE COMPLETED STRUCTURE OF
THE SEEDLING

TOGETHER WITH
SOME FURTHER STUDIES IN EILECTRO-PHYSIOLOGY

BY

A?’ E. BAINES

Author of Studies in Electro-Physiology, Electro-Pathology
and Therapeutics, etc.

WITH OVER 130 DRAWINGS FROM ORIGINAL
PHOTOGRAPHS

Lm? Lo’

LONDON :
GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LTD.
NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
192i

This Work is Dedicated to the Educated
Men and Women of the World, in the
hope and belief that some of them, free
from the shackles of scientific jealousy
and unhampered by medical “‘ ethics,”
will come forward and assist in the

dissemination of a Great Truth.

¢}

ti ey wi i ae
Wy Onn S|
LO eS

o

PREFACE ~

HEN this book, a plainly written account of
laborious research, passes into the hands of
reviewers I would ask those gentlemen to remember that
a great humanitarian question is involved and that while
my personal opinion upon matters of detail may seem worthy
of attack, the fundamental truth I have put forward, first
in Electro-Pathology and Therapeutics, second in Studies in
Electro-Physiology and for the third time in the present
volume is of too great importance to mankind to be passed
over, or to be, to all intents and purposes, shelved, by
saying there is very little that is new in it.

One outcome of my research work has been Dielectric
Therapy, the use of a standardised paraffin in the treat-
ment of local pyrexia. There is abundant evidence to prove
that by the use of this remedial agent pneumonia can be
deprived of its danger in a few hours, that it removes all
pain from burns in a few seconds and that as it does not
interfere with metabolism it promises to displace the anti-
septic method of treatment of wounds. If that is not new
why, I ask, is there no mention of paraffin as a remedy for
local pyrexia in the Pharmacopeia? Many hundreds of
physicians have had experience of its efficacy.

What I have endeavoured to do is to study natural
processes and to find out exactly what happens and how it
happens, and I hit upon a line of research which has been
productive of enlightenment. It has enabled me to explain
many things that were lacking of explanation and to view
physiological problems from a new standpoint; to peer
through the door opening into a hitherto unexplored field
and to describe such things as I have been able to see.

viii PREFACE

It is not fair play to suggest that my work has, in any
way, in any degree, been anticipated by Burdon-Sanderson’s
studies of a leaf of Venus’s fly-trap, or by the academic
labours of Professor Bose, because it is not true. Nor is it
understandable why if physiologists are capable and
experienced electricians they fail to tell us anything about
the human electrical system.

The issue is a plain one: I am either right or I am wrong,
If I am right then a brighter prospect opens for humanity.
If I am wrong—and it would be a very extraordinary
thing to find so long a chain of coincidences—it is easy
enough to prove me to be so by giving another and more
intelligible explanation of vital phenomena. In the mean-
time there is no explanation, other than that for which I
am responsible ; although Dr. Geo. W. Crile and, I have
no doubt, other able men are close upon the heels of the
truth.

In the present work I have attempted, and I think it
is the first time it has been attempted, to give a consecu-
tive account of the electro-physiological processes con-
cerned in evolution, from the formation of the pollen grain
to the completion of the structure of the young plant.
In regard to the other Studies in Electro-Physiology which
help to swell the volume I would point out that the thesis
upon the Auditory Apparatus opens up a, I submit, more
detailed and reasonable theory of the operation of what
has been called “the Mechanism of Hearing ” than others
which, in more senses than one, have gone before it.

A. E. BAINES.

SYNOPSIS

PAGE
INTRODUCTORY - - - - - 1

Trying to get back to the beginning of some form of
life. The animal foetus and the seed. Sexual repro-
duction in the plant. Fertilisation of the ovule and
development of the embryo. Motile and non-motile
egg-cells, The placenta common to both animal and
plant. Cell-division electricalin character. Whatisit
that enables the newly born child to live independently
of the mother ? Its circulation and generative power.
Is the air a vehicle of energy ? Light-frequencies and
the question of the energy exerted by them. Instances
of adventitious vegetative and sexual reproduction.
Theory that life is a product of chemical reaction
examined. The researches of Dr. Carrel. Reasons
why the theory is untenable. Growth of excised
tissues rather a manifestation of electrical energy than
of chemical reaction. Argument. Professor Schafer
and his statement that there is not a great difference
between dead and living matter criticised. Dr. Waller
and dry seeds. Potential and not latent life. Reasons
for opinion. Dissertation upon botany, embryology
and physiology. Chaotic state of theories of life and
action. Not chemical or electrical, but both. Chemi-
cal theory alone fails to explain vital phenomena.
Appeal for investigation.

x SYNOPSIS

PAGE
CHAPTER ].—Lire anp ELECTRICITY - ay |

What is life? An American definition. Upon what
is it dependent for its continuance? Resuscitation
after certain forms of symptomatic death. Frozen
fish, etc. The death of the body. Warmth and moisture
in electrical operation. Cell reproduction explained.
Theory of the propagation of electric force by molecular
action. Physiological argument against physical
theory of propagation of nervous impulse and a reply
thereto. Condensers and electrostatic capacity.
Ganglion cells; unipolar, bipolar and multipolar.
Arborisations and their function. The heart a pump.
What supplies it with energy ? The lungs a generating
station. Oxygen intake. Regulation of the heart’s
energy during sleep. The brain the seat of highest
potential. Cardiac branches of the vagus nerve.
The nerves and their insulating processes. The vege-
table world. The edible Chestnut similar to animal
foetus. Nature’s electrical system. The edible Chest-
nut in its pod, illustrated and described. Conditions
essential to germination. The Leyden jar formation.
Study of plant life. Striking analogies.

CuaPTer I].—THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED =~ 26

All seeds constructed upon the same principle. Report
upon Wolfryn process of seed electrification. The
structure of seeds described. Effect of electrical
stimulus to advance development of the embryo.
Treatment of seeds in various solutions and the
effect thereof. The Horse Chestnut, or ‘‘ Conker.”
Fundamental principle governing germination. The
Horse Chestnut seed in its pod, illustrated and des-
cribed. How it is electrically stimulated. The Acorn
and its structure. Acorns always connected in series
upon the parent tree. Static electricity defined.
Insulation test of a submarine cable. Leakage. Ger-
mination and expenditure of energy. Absolute insula-
tion of the seed substance. Puncture of the

SYNOPSIS xi

fins PAGE
CHAPTER II.—continued.

membranes of the Acorn. Measures of repair. An
extraordinary instance, illustrated and described.
Warmth, moisture and oxygen considered in connec-
tion with germination. The Walnut in its pod,
illustrated and described. Seeds and seed-foods.
Electrical structure of the Walnut. Colour. Chloro-
phyll and light. The embryo shell. Section of
Walnut illustrated. Walnut shell and negative system.
The pod described. Walnut in transverse section.
The stalk described. Section of Walnut with positive
pith removed. Comparison with Horse and Edible
Chestnut.

CuaApTerR IIJ.—Uron ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 41

Application of electricity to horticulture and agricul-
ture. Nature’s methods. Light-energy. Pot grown
plants. Reversal of polarity in. Seed electrification
versus electrification of the soil. Importance of sign
of current. Russell on various forms of stimuli.
Radium and over-ionisation. Possible influence upon
karyokinesis. Experimental results. Upward driving
force. Long French Radish, illustrated and described.
Grasses under electrification. Effect of sign of current
upon root production. Arc carbon in electro-culture.
Experiments with Potatoes, illustrated and described.
Tomatoes. Certain plants. Effect of high electrifi-
cation upon leaf buds and flowers. Intensity of
electrical stimulus. Optics a branch of electricity.
Electro-magnetic vibration and electrical discharges.
Researches of Professor Bose. Effect of rise of
temperature increasing internal energy of plant
questioned. Possible bearing of over-ionisation upon
origin of cancer. Continuation of effect of electrical
stimulus after disconnection of current confirmed by
Bose. Statement that a plant or an animal is an
accumulator questioned. Electrostatic capacity of
the human body. Keith Lucas on the conduction of
the nervous impulse.

xii SYNOPSIS

PAGE

‘CuapteR IV.—Acorns’ - - - - 68

Position and arrangement of the embryo. Delphinium ;
Cabbage, Pea. Umbellifers, Ranunculacee, etc. The
endosperm in albuminous and exalbuminous seeds.
The cotyledons in Oak, Horse Chestnut and Walnut.
First sign of germination. Seed stimulated into life.
How after loss of electrostatic capacity the electrical
system of the seedling is maintained. How the seed-
ling is protected from possibly “injurious light-
frequencies. Provision for obtaining oxygen. The
probable function of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll and
hemoglobin compared. Light and light-frequencies.
Protection of young buds. Gummy and resinous secre-
tions of various plants. How Nuts and Horse Chest-
nut seeds protect themselves when injured. Oak
seedling from horizontally potted seed, illustrated and
described. The first growth, seed in two halves. The
radicle, plumule and ‘“‘ collar’? attachment of the
cotyledons. Seedling from a seed potted apex down-
wards, illustrated and described. Manner in which
the leaf buds are borne upon the plumule. Seedling
from seed potted apex upward, illustrated and des-
cribed. Acurious growth. Other seedlings illustrated
and described. One in which, the seed being potted
apex downward, the plumule issued from the base of
the seed. Suggestion of a synapse at the junction of
the plumule with the radicle. Growth of the radicle
before formation of the plumule. Reason for want
of uniformity in development. First view of the coty-
ledons. Seedlings grown in the open ground.
Different development. A Phillipine, illustrated and
described. Seedling with one radicle and six shoots,
illustrated and described. Seed of the Ardisia
Japonica. Shoots on the hypocotyl of the Linaria
Bipartita. Other seedlings, illustrated and described. ~
The electrical structure of the radicle. How the root
filaments pick up current from the earth. Filaments
pierce the membranous covering of the radicle and
connect with conductors within it. The radicle, illus-
trated and described. More about pot-grown seedlings,
Final view of the cotyledons.

SYNOPSIS

CHAPTER V.—HazeEu Nouts i ~

Difference in structure from the Acorn. First sign of
life. Protrusion of the radicle. Seedlings illustrated
and described. Want of uniformity in development,
illustrated and examples given.

CHAPTER VI.—HorRSE-CHESTNUTS - -

Position of the embryo and attachment of the coty-
ledons. Probable shape of the latter. A young seed-
ling, illustrated and described. The question of insula-
tion after rupture of the seed coat. Does the seed
supply nutriment to the seedling? The growing
seed in section. Part of seed from which growth issues.
Other seedlings. Rootdevelopment. Protection from
actinic rays. Galvanometric tests. Theory of a
synapse at the posterior part of the plumule. Elec-
trical balance between root and foliage development.
More advanced seedlings, illustrated and described.

CHapPTeR VII.—Sorm anp WATER - -

Electrical conductivity of the soil not so far taken into
account. Dr. Russell on pan formation. Dry soil not
conductive of electricity. Water mainly required as
an electrolyte. Soil conductivity rises and falls with
rise and fall of temperature. Pan formation electri-
cally considered. Distribution of electrolytes in the
soil. Faults or breaks of continuity, their probable
effect upon vegetation and a suggested remedy. The
Loddington, Dicker and Shopwyke soils. Tempera-
ture in its relation to soil conditions. Late autumn and
early spring compared with summer and early autumn.
Forcing. Necessity of restricting rise of temperature
within narrow limits. Effect of low vitality. Upward
versus downward driving force. High electrification
harmful to the plant. High tension currents. Water.
The relationship between food supply and water
requirements. Water as an electrolyte. Dr. Russell
upon the question. My own experiments and their
bearing upon it. Grasses with ferrous sulphate as the
electrolyte plus electrical stimulation.

88

97

xiv

SYNOPSIS

CHaptrer VIII.—Testine mn Vacvo -

Apparatus designed for taking galvanometric tests of
various objects and substances in vacuo, illustrated and
described. Diagram of the connections. Trouble-
some apparatus but yielded interesting results. Theory
that the currents observed from animal and vegetable
skins, from mucous membranes and excised muscle and
nerve, as well as from vegetables and fruits removed
from their natural environment due to air charge. Air
of normal potential and sign versus air altered in
potential and sign by animal bodies. Dr. Waller on
blaze-currents. Evidence that he is mistaken. Pro-
fessor Bose disagrees with him. I fail to agree with
either. Not at all new in electro-physiology. My
experiments show that when the object or substance
under examination is ‘‘ earthed”’ in vacuo currents
disappear. Polarisation of electrodes. Nature of the
contacts altering. Diffusion and effect upon readings.
Precautions to be taken in making these tests. Tabu-
lated statement of results. Blaze-currents said to bea
manifestation of purely physical phenomena.
Difference between suspended animation in the seed
and plant and electrical death.

FURTHER STUDIES IN ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGY

Tue AUDITORY APPARATUS - -

Theoretical basis. The external and middle ear and
the labyrinth, illustrated and described. The peri-
lymph and endolymph. Their purpose and function.
Direct working telephone, illustrated and described.
Closed circuits of the auditory nerves. Speculative
diagram. The telephone. Purpose of the induction
coil, The microphone. Nature of the vibrations.
Middle ear not a microphone in an electrical sense.
Vibrations mechanical to fenestra ovalis. Blood supply
to the base of the cochlea. Perilymph and endolymph
in sectional area. The scale tympani and vestibuli.
Neuro-electrical potential of the perilymph and
endolymph. Equilibrium between them. Conforma-
tion of the cochlea. Induction and intensification.
Vertical section through the middle of the cochlea.
The membrane of Reissner and its function. Vibrations
pass from the endolymph to the organ of Corti. The

119

SYNOPSIS

Tus Aupirory ApPpaRATUS—continued.

CANCER

SLEEP ;

membranous labyrinth. The acoustic nerves. The
organ of Cortiin section. Vertical section of the first
turn of the cochlea. Nerve-fibres and the membrana
tectoria. Diagrammatic view of the organ of Corti.
The hair-cells and their probable function. How the
vibrations are transmitted to the brain. Diagram-
matic view of the organ of hearing. The Basilar mem-
brane. Impulse and response in sensory circuits.
The resonance theory not tenable. Some “ faults”
which commonly occur and a method of detecting them.

Somatic mitosis. No degeneration of the exoplasm
during cell division. Possible effect upon cells of local
pyrexia. Pre-cancerous condition probably inflamma-
tory. Multiplication of centrosomes suggested.
Arnold’s work. X-rays and radium. Paraffin.
Effect of electrical stimulus upon vegetables. Experi-
ments. Long French Radish. Grasses. Potatoes and
changes produced in them, illustrated and described.
Resemblance of these morbid conditions to cancer in
the animal body. Work of J. Arnold, illustrated and
described. No claim to discovery of cause. Cancer
from an electro-physiological point of view. Lavdow-
sky on ‘“‘ Cell division by force.” Possible remedial
measures suggested and cases given.

Narcosis AND ALLIED PHENOMENA

Conditions that favour sleep. Sound and light.
Logical outcome of my research work. Howell’s views.
Vaso-motor fatigue questioned. Theories of changes
in the blood supply to the brain. Blood the carrier of
energy. Halliburton on chemical theories. Ober-
steiners’ hypothesis. Histological theories. The Golgi
method. Demoor and others on the subject. Lugaro
and his biophysical theory. Hamilton Wright’s work.
The Meyer-Overton hypothesis of anesthesia. Nar-
cotics and metabolic activity of nerve cells. Potential
and electrostatic capacity of the brain and its cells.
Oxygen intake of man day and night. Mental fatigue
and its influence upon the central nervous system.
Somnolency after meals. Stimulants; alcohol—their
effect. The young sleeping with the aged..

EV
PAGE

134

148

xvi

SYNOPSIS

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES ELeEcrricaLLy

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS or tut VEGETABLE

CONSIDERED - .

Negative parts of vegetables. Vegetable poisons
mainly contained in the roots, stem and venation.
Rhubarb leaves. The Cabbage tribe. Periods of
drought and current supply. Summer cabbage and
Brussels Sprout, illustrated and described. The Savoy,
Cauliflower and Scarlet Runner, illustrated and des-
cribed. Their electrical connections. The placenta
of the bean. Vegetable Marrow and Cucumber com-
pared with a Gourd. Difference in their electrical
structure. The Loofah. The Turnip and Swede.
The Tomato. The Potato, its structure physical and
electrical, illustrated and described. The Potato
plant. Jerusalem Artichoke and how it differs from
the Potato. Conclusions.

KINGDOM - -

?

““Nothing new under the sun.” Our progress in
Applied Science. Education. How certain experi-
ments were initiated. Drs. Trowbridge and Radcliffe.
Electrical circuits in electric lighting. Series, series-
parallel, and parallel. Direct, not alternating current.
Sectional area of conductors. Acorns and how they
are joined up. The incandescent lampholder. Ivy
leaves in series, illustrated and described. Fuchsias
in series-parallel. Apples, Cherry Apples and Horse
Chestnut leaves and Geranium flowers in parallel.
Elderberries and Grapes in series-parallel. Peas and
Runner Beans in series-parallel. The electrical struc-
ture of the Apple and Onion, illustrated and described.

-

PAGE

157

171

Fic. No.

—=

iy eo he Wt fe Rc Boe aa
et onk mk Oh =O OS & +o om Oh

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

’

Cell in ‘‘resting’’ stage - -

Cell—diagrammatic - -

Cell in process of division -
Daughter Cells - -
Molecules of electricity—diagrammatic
Condenser - - -
Condenser in live circuit - -
Unipolar cell - - -
Multipolar cell - - -
Section of Edible Chestnut in its pod
Leyden jar—diagrammatic -
Horse Chestnut seed - -

i a a6) OL dts pod hye
Acorns - - - -

Section of Walnut - -
Walnut Shell and Negative System
Walnut in transverse section -

Section of Walnut with positive pith removed

Long French Radishes -
Potato in pot - - -
Abnormal growth of Potato plant -
Potatoes - - >

Different root development under electrical stimulation -

Germinating Acorn - -

-

B

PAGE

xviii
Fic. No.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Young Oak Seedling -

Seedling with curved plumule
Oak Seedling

First growth of radicle ~
Oak Seedling - - .

” ” me .

Curvature of radicle of seedling
Root development -

View of the cotyledons of Oak seedling

A Phillipine - -

”

Oak seedling with six shoots

” ” ” »> ”

Oak seedling ~ -

” >

Electrical structure of the radicle

Root development -

” a?

Germinating Hazel Nut -

Hazel seedling - - a
i asctnies - ‘ “ ; ‘
4 snditay ; - a p d
N i ae we ieee

Section of Horse Chestnut seed
Horse Chestnut seedling -

Horse Chestnut seed and seedling in section

‘ » seedling -

PAGE

Fic. No.

69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
ric,
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
a
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
100A
101
102
103
104
105
106
107

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Horse Chestnut root development
junction of plumule and radicle -

a” 0,

7? 0? 2°

” 2”?

Apparatus for testing in vacuo

Diagram of connections
Laurel leaf -

Semi-diagrammatic section through the right ear
Diagram of direct working telephones

o

-

seedling in section

A sensory circuit—diagrammatic

Vertical section through the middle of the cochlea
The membranous labyrinth
Vertical section of the first turn of the Cochlea

oo ” ” a”

The Organ of Corti—diagrammatic -
Diagrammatic view of the Organ of Hearing

” a”

Long French Radishes
Electrified Potato
Morbid growth in Potato
Electrified Potato
Morbid growth in Potato

” Lcd ”? ”?

Mitotic segmentation and division

“Cell division by force ”’
Section of Cabbage -

aa Brussels Sprout

a5 Savoy -

> Cauliflower
Runner Bean -

Section of Vegetable Marrow

»”

seedling in section -

electrical molecules

2?

electrical system of seedling

final appearance of the seed

>

xix
PAGE
91
92
92
92
93
94
94
95
95
95
105
106
110
120
121
122
125
126
127
127
128
130
135
137
138
139
139
140
140
141
141
143
145
158
159
159
160
160
161
162

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Section of Cucumber -
HS Gourd - -
Pr Turnip -
3 Tomato - -

The fibres or tubes of the Potato
Potato in section - -
The Jerusalem Artichoke
Acorns in series - -

Ivy Leaves in series .

- -

” ” ” Lad

Fuchsias in series-parallel

Cherry Apples in parallel -
Horse Chestnut leaves in parallel
” ” ” ” ”
Apples, in parallel - -

Geranium flowers in parallel
Elderberries in series-parallel -
Grapes, in series-parallel -
Peas, in series-parallel -
Runner Beans, in series-parallel
Electrical structure of the Apple
A 5 BAAR © yahtoys)

PAGE
162
162
163
163
164
165
166
173°
174
174
175
175
176
176
177
177
178
178
179
179
179
180
181

Physiological Chemistry
Normal Histology
Text Book of Physiology
Essentials of Chemical Physiology
Manual of Practical Anatomy
Text Book of Anatomy

Comparative Electro-Physiology

On Seedlings

Text Book of Botany
Essentials of Histology
Text Book of Botany

Vegetable Physiology -

Signs of Life

Soil Conditions and Plant Growth
On Buds and Stipules
Gealogical History of Plants
Origin of Plant Structures
The Evolution of Sex

The Conduction of the Nervous Impulse

Introduction to Neurology

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MATHEWS

PIERSOL

HOWELL

HALLIBURTON

CUNNINGHAM

CUNNINGHAM

BOsE -

AVEBURY

STRASBURGER

SCHAFER

VINES

GREEN

WALLER

RUSSELL

AVEBURY

DAWSON

HENSLOW

GEDDES & THOMSON

Lucas -

HERRICK

1916

1910

1912

1914

1912

1914

1907

1907

1903

1899

1905

1895

1917

1916

RCE
BN

4) ‘
)

; 7 BANG y A p i

GERMINATION

INTRODUCTORY

HAVE been trying, like many other and better men

who have gone before me, to peer through the veil
that hides from us the principle underlying what we call
life. The difficulty has been, or at all events my difficulty
has been to get back to the very commencement of some
form of life in a process which is not only continuously
reproductive, but which began ages before man came into
being on the earth.

For a good many years I held the opinion that the only
way to arrive at some understanding of the subject was to
study plant life. The human fetus, prior to birth, is
dependent upon the maternal blood-stream and may be
said to live, if only with the life of the mother, until it com-
mences, with its first breath, an independent existence.
But it lives, in the sense that it is not dead, nor in a state
of suspended animation. That before birth circulation is
not completed through its lungs and it is not able to do
the things of which the infant is capable, does not affect
the question. It is alive.

In the plant much the same thing obtains. The children
of the plant are its seeds and if we consider the process of
sexual reproduction we shall see that no hard and fast
line of separation can be drawn between animal and
vegetable.

In his Text Book of Biology, Davis, writing of gymno-
sperms, cites the Selaginella, a common greenhouse plant,
as an illustration of sexual reproduction.

In this the sporophyte bears male and female spores—
Microspores and Macrospores. Within the Microspore is
developed a very rudimentary male prothallus, which
originates one or more antheridia, producing mobile sperma-
tozoids. Within the Macrospore a rather larger female

2 GERMINATION

prothallus is formed, in which one or more archegonia arise.
These are exposed to the exterior by the bursting of the
coats of the macrospore, and are fertilised by the sperma-
tozoids in the usual way.

As the prothallus is, in effect, a genital organ, it follows
that the process is essentially the same in both animal and
plant. The main difference appears to be that with the first
the act is a conscious one and in the second, so far as we
know, unconscious.

Lord Avebury, in his work on Seedlings, says: “‘ The seed
is the result of the fertilisation of the ovule by the pollen.
The effect of fertilisation, however, extends in the angio-
sperms beyond the ovules to the ovary in which they are
contained. The ovary thus becomes the fruit, as the
ovule has become the seed. In the apple, for instance,
the edible portion consists of the greatly developed floral
receptacle, which includes the ovary as its core. The
ovules are borne usually on some definite part of the ovary
wall or walls, known as the placenta. They consist of an
internal portion, the nucellus, one cell of which grows at
the expense of the rest to form an embryo-sac, which again
contains the egg-cell or oosphere, and one or two integuments
entirely surrounding the nucellus, except at the apex where
a small aperture, known as the micropyle, is left. In the
process of fertilisation the pollentube passes down the
micropyle to the oosphere, which, enclosed in the embryo-sac,
approaches very close to the outer wall of the ovule at this
point. After fertilisation the oosphere developes into the
embryo, the rest of the embryo-sac becoming filled with a
cellular tissue, the endosperm.”

That, I think, is sufficiently descriptive of the principle
involved but there is, as may be imagined, considerable
variety in the position and arrangement of the ovule and
subsequently of the seed.

And here is a point I should like to make.

Strasburger remarks that it is the non-motile egg-cells, or
female sexual organs of plants which exert an attractive
influence upon the motile male cells, but adds that when
there is no difference in the external form of the male and

INTRODUCTORY 8

female cells, then both are usually motile and the attraction
seems to be exerted mutually.

From this it would appear to be evident that the male
and female cells are in any case of opposite polarity and
that when the female organ is non-motile it is because its
electrical tension is greatly in excess of that of the male
cell.

Another analogy between animal and vegetable is to be
found in the placenta which although common enough is
perhaps best exemplified in the runner bean. In the human
being the placenta is a spongy, vascular mass through which
the maternal blood is conveyed to the foetus and which
also secretes glycogen, possibly for the purpose of sustaining
animal heat. In the plant it is a projection on the inner wall
of the ovary, to which the ovules, or rudimentary seeds,
are attached.

As regards the inception of the seed we cannot go further
back.in its history than the formation of the pollen-mother
and as vital processes are continually going on, there is life—
although it may be only the life of the mother plant—
and we are no nearer to a perception of the origin of life
than we were with the animal embryo.

But several considerations present themselves.

In the first place cell-division in both animal and vegetable
is electrical in character, as I shall show. Secondly, What
is it that enables the newly-born child to begin a life that
is independent of the mother? It is the act of breathing.
Only at birth is circulation completed through the lungs.
Before they were required to take in oxygen, to sustain life
and render the young body independent of the mother,
there was no need for its blood to circulate through the lungs
for that would have meant separate life before birth and
would be as unusual if not as unnatural as the germination
of a seed while still attached to the parent plant, although
an instance of this has been noted by Strasburger; the
seed of mangrove trees, Rhizophora and Bruguiera germinat-
ing in the fruit before it is detached from the tree. When
the radicle has attained a considerable length, the young
seedling, separating either from the cotyledons or from the

4 GERMINATION

fruit stalk, falls and bores into the mud. There is also an
analogue, in vegetative reproduction, in the sporophytic
budding of the Asplenium Fabianum ; A Bulbiform and
A Viviparum, all of which produce buds on their lamine.
These develop into small rooted plants, which then fall off
and complete their development. Adventitious budding is
fairly common in vegetative reproduction but I have not
heard of an instance, other than that mentioned, of adven-
titious germination in sexual reproduction. This, however,
is digression.

In the act of breathing, oxygen is brought into association
with hemoglobin and the force which actuates the human
organism is generated. The heart continues to beat, driven
by the infant’s own power, the blood carries energy as well
as oxygen in the arterial stream to every cell in the body
and the processes of anabolism and katabolism proceed.

And this gives fresh food for thought. The atmosphere
is admittedly positive, as the earth is negative. By what
is the air positively charged ? We must, I think, assume,
in the absence of any other explanation, that it is by energy
from some supermundane source. And if it is so charged
do we—and I include the plant—inspire oxygen and nitrogen
—plus some other gases—only, or is that oxygen and
nitrogen mixture charged with the same form of energy ?
Is it air, or vitalised air ?

I do not see how it can be otherwise than vitalised, if
vitality and energy are in any way related. Nor is that
all. Are we not to take into consideration, if not into
account, the possible evolution of energy from light-
frequencies ?

I do not know of any method of measuring the energy
exerted by, for instance, sunlight, until it is transformed
into heat. But that it is a force in motion is unquestionable.
Sunstroke cannot be produced by artificial means. Heat
alone does not originate the symptoms which, however,
closely resemble those due to concussion of the air and are
known as ‘‘shell-shock.’”” They are probably caused by
light-vibration—possibly by ultra-violet rays—but while

INTRODUCTORY 5

that is speculative, I am fortunately able to support the
hypothesis that light is a force in motion by proof.

An onion in good condition will when tested galvano-
metrically, if the instrument is a sensitive one, give a large
deflection ; its electromotive force being 0.086 volt. If
the vegetable is ‘‘earthed ”’ in vacuo that deflection will,
after some thirty or forty minutes, fall to zero, because
the source of charge, the air, has been cut off; and there-
after no deflection other than one due to a vagrant earth-
current will be observed. If now the onion is removed
from the apparatus and exposed to the air in a room in a
dull subdued light it will not recover sufficiently to yield
its initial deflection for several days. In the open air, in
the sun, it recovers in an hour or so or less.

That, I submit, goes to show that a very real force is
exerted by sunlight and this view is supported by Professor
Bose.

From these considerations one is led irresistibly to the
experiments of that distinguished surgeon, Dr. Alexis
Carrel, experiments which have been responsible for the
theory that life is merely a product of chemical reaction.
That is a statement made by Dr. Jacques Loeb, Dr. Carrel’s
colleague at the Rockefeller Laboratories. Professor Schafer
is also reported to have declared that there is not a great
difference, after all, between dead and living matter.

I propose to subject both those statements to the test
of common sense, backed by ascertained fact.

Dr. Carrel extirpated from his experimental animals—
I am taking an account from The World’s Work, of March,
1913—a chicken, a dog, a cat, or a frog—pieces of tissue.
He selected small samples of the most important bodily
organs—pieces of skin, of liver, of heart, of kidney, of
spleen, of thyroid gland, of bone and cartilage. Placing
these specimens upon a microscopic slide, he poured upon
each a drop or two of blood plasma.

The glass slides containing the specimens were then placed
in an incubator, heated up to the body temperature—and
the specimens grew.

The experiments themselves are full of interest, reflect

6 GERMINATION

great credit upon the brilliant young scientist who made
them and constitute a valuable addition to our knowledge,
but—there is nothing whatever in them to justify the conclu-
sion that life is merely a product of chemical reaction.

In the first place, every animal, and vegetable, cell is a
self-contained piece of electrical apparatus, the chemical
processes of which are dependent upon its response to body
energy, vis nervosa, neuro-electricity ; call it what you will.

Secondly, everything that is moist possesses capacity
and also true electrostatic capacity, though in the latter
case power to retain charge is directly with its absolute
insulation. By capacity I mean the ability to absorb
electrical charge from some outside source of energy, and in
this case the outside source is the atmosphere. There is
no reason that I can see why, given a measure of natural
energy, excised cells should not grow.

Even without the energy of which I have made mention
growth should continue at body temperature in the presence
of blood plasma because iron is contained in the nucleo-
proteins of plant and animal cells and in the proteins of
blood plasma. Iron is fifth in the list of electro-positives
and oxygen the most active of electro-negatives. The two,
in combination with the salts of plasma as an exciting
solution are capable of generating electricity, or some force
akin to it, and so supplying the vis nervosa.

We cannot call this a chemical phenomenon. [If it is an
indication of life, then it is the vis nervosa that gives it.
It is rather a manifestation of electrical energy than of
chemical reaction and I am quite sure that if the iron content
of the cells and of the plasma could be removed or, preferably,
experiments tried in vacuo, no growth could possibly take
place.

Moreover, that is not my conception of life. If Dr.
Carrel had taken pieces of skin, of liver, of heart, of kidney,
of spleen, of thyroid and other glands, of muscle and bone,
and cartilage of, say, a chicken, placed them in an incubator
and produced a hen capable of laying an egg, or a cock that
could crow, we should have no option but to agree that he
had done a very wonderful thing. Nevertheless, it would

INTRODUCTORY 7

not, any more than the other experiments, prove that life
is the result of chemical reaction.

Upon the subject of Professor Schifer’s statement that
there is not a great difference between dead and living
matter, I have to say that there is this difference :—Suppos-
ing both to be structurally perfect one is dependent upon an
outside and artificial source of energy while the other forms
part of a continuously active natural circuit. Mere move-
ment is not life, for the motions of the ameeba can be imitated
by means of oil and soap and water; growth does not
necessarily postulate life, for the cancer-cell proliferates and
disintegrates in so doing. If to live is to be natural the
cancer-cell is never alive, for it is never perfectly formed.
You may simulate life by exciting excised cells into action
by artificial stimuli but they are just pieces of mechanism
—nothing more. Life is exemplified by the perfected
organism, if not sentient at least exercising to the full the
functions for which it was created.

Dr. Waller, in his Signs of Life, examines the problem of
the unplanted seed. He says: ‘‘ Now dry seeds kept for
long periods in hermetically sealed vessels, have not been
found to manifest any evidence of the most fundamental
and general chemical change occurring in living matter,
viz., a production of CO*. Their chemical reply to the
question, * Are you alive ?’ has been ‘ No.’

“But does this negative answer, ‘Not alive,’ imply
that such seeds are dead? Evidently not, as may be seen
if under suitable conditions of temperature, moisture, and
so forth, they are found to germinate, and grow into plants.
So that a seed, in so far as it does not manifest chemical
change, is not proved to be living; and, inasmuch as it
germinates, is proved not to be dead. Evidently here is a
dilemma; in the absence of an objective chemical sign
of life, we have no right to say that a seed is alive; it is,
so far as we can tell, not alive ; in the presence of its subse-
quent germination we are assured that it is living and that
therefore it was not dead. And the usual manner of escape
from this dilemma of the seed which is neither living nor
dead is to say that it is in a state of latent life, during which

8 GERMINATION

there is a complete suspension of chemical changes charac-
teristic of the living state.”

That is an explanation but not I think, the true explana-
tion. Dr. Waller goes on to say that by means of an electrical
test he can tell whether a seed is alive or dead. I am sorry
to be at issue with him, but he is mistaken. No electrical
test will show anything of the sort. Reference to the
Chapter upon “ The Structure of the Seed ” will make this
clear. Nothing short of a microscopical examination
showing degeneration—equivalent to putrefaction in the
animal body—can determine the question of life or death
in a dry seed, although its electrical fitness, or otherwise,
could be determined by moistening the seed coat, charging
it by means of continuous current for a few seconds and
then discharging it through the galvanometer. But the
fact that it gave a sensible deflection would no more prove
it to be alive than it would show a Leyden jar or a condenser
to be alive. And I say that the seed is not in a state of
latent but of potential life.

Let us consider the matter from a common sense point
of view.

The animal foetus is constructed to commence an indepen-
dent existence the moment the umbilical cord is severed.
Unless it then inspires oxygen and generates force to call
its body functions into instant operation it dies, for it has had
no life of its own but only the life of the mother. Not so,
however, with the seed. Just before the animal draws its
first breath and when the grown seed falls from the parent
plant both are structurally perfect, but what the first
breath is to the animal so is the natural environment of
soil and warmth and moisture to the seed, and it is obviously
not intended that it should perish if that environment was
not immediately forthcoming. The seed, in my belief, is
just a piece of apparatus to which life can be imparted
when the conditions essential to its completion are complied
with, and not before.

It is almost as if we were considering it as the recording
instrument in a telegraphic circuit. Everything is in order,
the battery, the keys, the condensers, the line wire, the

INTRODUCTORY 9

earth connections and the instrument. But the latter
is silent and would for ever so remain did not some agency
depress the key connecting up the battery and so enable
the vitalising current to traverse its coils. The main
difference between the instrument and the seed is that the
stimulus applied to the seed is continuous; to the other
intermittent. Accident, such as a flash of lightning, might
compel the armature of the instrument to temporary move-
ment, and dampness and warmth, by rendering the seed-
coat conductive, and so enabling it to absorb energy from the
air, might stimulate the seed to life. But without energy
of an electrical nature neither piece of apparatus can function.

In the studies in Electro-Physiology which follow I am
going to assume that my readers are acquainted with all
there is to be said upon the subject of botany and that
they have embryology, so far as it is understood by anyone,
at their finger’s ends. It will not only save me a great deal
of trouble, but what is, to me, of more importance, it will
enable me to concentrate upon germination in its electrical
aspect and to avoid many of the rocks and pitfalls of fear-
some words and occasionally misleading theory. Botany
should be a fascinating study to the young. It has been
made a heart-breaking one, for the student has almost to
master another language before he can become familiar
with the structure of a single blossom. Embryology, which
should hold more interest than any other branch of science,
is, like physiology, wanting a link, and without that link,
unsatisfying. We are told what happens, but not why
or how it happens. Students are taught that all vital func-
tions are due to chemical action and that kinetics play no
part in the phenomena. And with what result? Take any
work upon Physiology, and what do we find ?. The mechan-
ism of hearing “further investigation of hearing is called
for, the function of the Cochlea is imperfectly understood ” ;
the eye: ‘“‘ We do not yet understand the phenomenon of
vision,’ and so forth. Physiology deals with the chemical
processes of the body and apart from them and histological
description, explains nothing. We are not told what
causes voluntary muscle to contract; what the force is

10 GERMINATION

that supplies the heart with energy during every second of
our lives: what actuates plain muscle, how we see pictures
and hear seunds, or why we sleep.

As it is in animal so it is in vegetable physiology.
Admirable work has, it is true, been done in Histology,
Morphology and in Anatomy. Those deal with things that can
be seen. The unseen remains for the most part—unseen.

And, unfortunately, the average man takes far less interest
in his own body than in that of his favourite horse or dog.
It is easy enough to understand the working of a steam
or internal combustion engine, because we have been shown
that one is driven by volatilised water and the other by
volatilised petrol, or paraffin, or benzol, or gasoline, but
while we all know that the human body is an organism of
a much more wonderful nature than any engine invented
by man, it is not supposed to be actuated by any motive
power at all; or at all events, no one seems to know what
the motive power is, although common sense tells us it
must exist.

In the seed, in the plant, in the cell or cells from which
all living things spring, the electrical structure is so clearly
evident as to leave very little, if any, doubt as to the form
of energy which calls them into activity, and maintains
them and the chemical processes associated with them.

Some explanation of the chaotic state in which we find
theories of life and action offers itself in the fact that for
some obscure reason it is sought to establish a single cause
of vital phenomena. It is chemical or it is electrical ; one
or the other—when, clearly, it is both. The theorist who,
like myself, attributes the performance of body functions
to a force resembling electricity cannot but admit that the
chemical reactions which accompany those performances
are equally vital in their importance to life; he merely
postulates that neuro-electrical action is precedent to
chemical change. The physiologist, however, in effect,
denies the existence of a nerve-force of an electrical nature
and insists upon chemistry as being responsible for all the
phenomena which the chemical theory itself fails throughout
to explain.

INTRODUCTORY 11

That, if I may venture to say so, is not a scientific attitude,
nor one that, in view of the humanitarian question involved,
should be tolerated. Whether a vital force is really gene-
rated in the animal body and in the plant and whether
electrical interchanges take place between the atmosphere
and the earth are problems that readily lend themselves
to study and solution. Few difficulties are in the way. It
involves merely a few weeks’ or a few months’ work on the
part of qualified men—electricians as well as physiologists—
and I hope that in the near future an investigation will be
set on foot, for it is not a matter of testing a theory but
of verifying a great truth.

CHAPTER I.

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY

N the first place, let us ask the momentous question,
“What is life? ’’ The best answer I have seen is
given by the American Medical Dictionary which defines
it as “‘ a peculiar stimulated condition of organised matter.”
And if it is a stimulated condition of organised matter
upon what is it dependent for its continuance ? Not, as
a whole, upon oxygen for we are confronted by the problem
of anerobic micro-organisms which are said to live without
it ; not upon food or heat; against that we have hiberna-
tion, the imprisonment of toads for long periods of time
in stone or wood, of survival in fact under conditions
seemingly fatal to life. The dried seed if it does not live
is possessed of potential life so long as its testa is kept dry
and the liquid content of the seed-substance remains ;
while in the absence of electrical diffusion, consequent upon
organic disintegration, suspended animation may simulate
death so closely as to lead to premature burial.

Dr. Benjamin Ward’s paper upon Resuscitation after
certain forms of symptomatic death suggested that death is
sometimes more apparent than real and I have a vivid
recollection of his showing me, many years ago, how to
resuscitate frozen fish.

Carpenter tells us that it is unquestionable that many
fishes, especially those of fresh-water lakes, will revive
after having been completely frozen ; that the snail, when
retiring for the winter, seals the orifice of its shell with
an impervious lid; and in this cavity it may remain shut
up for years, until re-excited to activity by warmth and
moisture.

Dr. David Fraser Harris, writing in Knowledge, instances
certain bacteria which after being frozen at the tempera-
ture of liquid air (about minus 200C.) were not killed, but

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY 13

- could survive so extremely drastic a procedure as this
and yet retain their specific vital pathogenic characteristics.
When frozen they were so brittle that they could be powdered
in a mortar, they were nevertheless in a state of latent life.
He concludes as follows :

“ Thus, the solution of our problem, What is latent life ?
seems capable of being stated in the terms of the already
known. The organism in latent life is not dead, for it is
capable of living again; it is, however, very far from being
fully alive, for it is manifesting none of the attributes of
livingness.

* Without a chemical theory of living matter ‘ suspended
animation would be inexplicable.’ ”’

With the last paragraph I certainly do not agree. The
chemical theory does not explain suspended animation or
help us to a clear understanding of life.

*“ The death of the body then, does not consist in the
mere suspension of its vital activity; for so long as that
activity may be renewed when the requisite conditions are
supplied, so long must the organism be considered as alive,
however death-like its condition may seem.” The italics
are mine.

No question can be more complex, but the two words
““Warmth ” and “ Moisture” are full of significance.
Warmth increases the conductivity of the nerves, and
moisture gives capacity, or power of absorption of electrical
energy from the air. From that we may gather a little
light, but altogether must take the view that a force at
present unrecognised in our schools operates in sustaining
if not in creating what we call life.

Let us go back, if not to the very beginning of things,
at all events as far as we can, to the reproduction of the
cells of which all animal and vegetable bodies are built up,
and»see exactly what takes place.

I quote the following from The Evolution of Sex, by
‘Geddes & Thomson.

“That attractions and repulsions do exist within the
cells is certain; an analysis of their precise nature—the
*Carpenter.

14 GERMINATION

final problem of histology—is still far in the distance. We
cannot get within miles of it.”

The secret of the whole matter, the constant generation
of nerve force within the animal organism, has hitherto
not been discovered, or at least, admitted. I will endea-
vour to add to our knowledge of the subject.

In what is termed its “ resting ” stage, but really during
development, the cell presents the following appearance :—

a ae L2qpla3sI7
pete ty a MM
Nucleoles ke} _ Wuclewus
1. | nee -CCMSTOSOITIE
Nuclear membrane_.._.S«
Ue 7a

Before entering upon explanation I must premise that
the acuating force is not electricity as we understand it,
but a cognate and, I believe, a more subtle and powerful
force. As, however, we are not able to define its exact
nature we will continue to call it electricity.

In the blood is an iron-containing substance known as
hemoglobin. Iron is fifth in the list of electro-positives.
Oxygen is the most active of practicable electro-negatives.
The oxygen intake of man, during the daytime, is
400cc. per minute. In the lungs, therefore, are all the
elements necessary for the generation of electricity, and
the blood-stream being the carrier of energy as well as of
oxygen, and iron being present in every cell, it follows
that not only is ‘vital force’ circulated throughout the
body but that a measure of independent generation proceeds
in every individual cell. The brain, receiving as it does
six times more blood than any other part, except the
thyroid gland, is the seat of highest potential, but with
that we are not presently concerned.

And now let us ponder figure 1.

The exoplasm is an enveloping insulating membrane
or capsule, designed principally to conserve the energy of
the cell, and the cell itself is a species of Leyden jar, capable

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY 15

to some extent of self-charge. The nucleus and nucleolus
are always centrally situated (a fact in itself suggestive of
similarly electrified bodies) and the centrosome—(the attrac-
tion sphere of physiology) is single.

Before reproduction can begin the centrosome must be
duplicated, thus :—

The moment that occurs cell-reproduction commences,
and the following changes take place with comparative
rapidity.

The two centrosomes, being similarly electrified, at once
repel each other and move to positions as far apart as the
structure of the cell permits.

G2 (dageoonnatic)

But inasmuch as the network of protoplasm would not
allow of this the nucleus loses its membrane and breaks up
into a skein, leaving the centrosomes free to move. They,
the latter, are then, in effect, two permanent magnets with
their N poles opposed and lines of force connect them as in
magnetism,

Now the nucleus contains a number of threads or rod-like

16 GERMINATION

substances called chromosomes and these are in the skein
shown in Figure 3. They are always in multiples of two
and during the process of cell-division each of them splits
into two parts.

In parting with its membrane the nucleus also parts with
its insulation and the chromosomes are deprived of theirs
by splitting. The latter are thus, for the time being, elec-
trically neutral or alternatively are similarly electrified
bodies and are accordingly marshalled by the lines of foree—
the repelling influence from each centrosome—into the
equatorial plane, or, in other words, into a position equi-
distant from the centrosomes (Figure 4).

After a brief interval the chromosomes regain insulation
and in accordance with the law governing electrified bodies
(they are now oppositely electrified) are attracted in two
equal groups by the centrosomes. (Figure 5).

Directly that occurs new nuclear membranes are formed,
the exoplasm gradually contracts in the centre, the lines
of force disappear and as shown in Figure 6, two daughter-
cells, each with a single centrosome, mark the conclusion
of the process.

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY 17

6

These cells are then said to “ rest,’ but of course they
undergo further development, and await the duplication
of the centrosome, before they can further reproduce
themselves.

Here, clearly, we have evidence of electrical phenomena in
association with vital processes and while I have only
postulated generation of force as taking place in the body
it is, I think, open to question whether we inspire atmos-
pheric air alone or whether it is accompanied by some
form of energy of supermundane origin. I am led to
consider this as a possibility by the facts that the earth
continually receives positive charge from the atmosphere
and that the atmosphere is merely the vehicle and not the
source of that charge.

The conduction of the nerve impulse, upon the testimony
of the galvanometer, would appear to be in accordance
with the theory of the propogation of electric force by
molecular action, the molecules of the interpolar wire being
as follows :

Do
ax SELELETSE/EA/S SGA EMMA

LG
419.7

C being the copper and Z the zinc end, the dark parts being
+ and the clear parts —. The first effect of the electric
force developed is to throw all the molecules of the circuit
into a polar condition, the force being transmitted from
molecule to molecule in both directions. Positive and
negative electricities appear in each molecule of the circuit ;
and if the action be powerful enough, discharge takes place

18 GERMINATION

throughout the whole, each molecule giving out its elec-
tricities to those next it, which, throwing out the opposite
electricities, produce quiescence throughout. A constant
series of such polarisations and discharges, taking place
with enormous rapidity, constitute a current.

The physiological argument against this theory is that
the rate of propagation of the nerve impulse is only 120
metres per second, against, roughly, the 3,000 miles of
electricity. But the argument does not hold good, because
the nerve impulse is not propagated along a homogeneous
wire but a long nerve which is anatomatically, though not
functionally, interrupted by thousands of synaptic junctions
and arborisations, at each of which the current suffers
delay.

I will endeavour to make this clear as it is a very important
point. A condenser, as used in telegraphy, consists of a
number of sheets of tin or silver foil separated from each
other by a non-conducting substance, such as paraffin wax.
Now tension (electrical pressure) is in the inverse ratio to
the area over which a charge is distributed. Condensers are
conventionally shown thus:

a 2,
LED ne, ens -Tinfor/

fig 8 .
RNA Paraffin wax

If we connect that apparatus in circuit with a battery :

the plate (tin foil) a will receive positive charge from the
battery and transmit by induction a negative charge to
plate 6. Suppose the latter to have twice the area of a
and it will become evident that a single impulse could not
charge b to the same potential as a. Not only is that so

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY 19

but Nature uses impulses in several circuits at the same
time so that the current-strength, though sufficient in some
circuits requires amplifying in others. In all, or most of
these cases, there would be delay, and as each synaptic
junction and arborisation is of the nature of a condenser
of varying capacity, it can be postulated with reason that
no comparison is possible between the rate of propagation
of the impulse along a nerve and that of a current of elec-
tricity along a line.

My difficulty is not to find proof that the human body
is primarily formed for the exercise of electrical functions
but to sufficiently condense that proof.

‘Let us now consider ganglion cells.

There are three classes of these, 7.e., unipolar, bipolar
and multipolar cells.

Me AE eal
“19 €0_ Unyodlor cel?

The first of these are in association with the “closed”
circuits of the sensory nerves only. They are really storage
cells in a state of charge and their office is to maintain
electrical equilibrium by “ giving” or “taking” as the
case might be, and to hold our store of reserve energy.

Those of the bipolar type are condensers of higher capacity
than synaptic junctions, while
multipolar cells are built up of a
number of Leyden-jar-like rings,
each of which is on a separate
circuit and may be linked up with arborisations for the pur-
pose of changing the sign of current where required.

As many of my readers will be aware all the impulses

20 GERMINATION

which originate in the brain pass by the motor and secre-

tory nerves from the brain
i b downwards. Without an
arborisation, or a condenser,
in circuit all the impulses
conveyed by the axon or
line wire a (Figure 11) would
be efferent and if passing
out by the branch circuits,
4, 0, b, b, b, b, b, b, would also
i be efferent. If, however, it
was desired to change the
sign from positive to nega-
tive—from efferent to affer-
ent—in any circuit it would
only be necessary to insert a

Fig 1). Mu pies vst condenser in that circuit at
some point outside the cell.

That is exactly what Nature does. The only difference
is that it is called an arborisation, and is shown thus :

The process is one of induction, pure and simple.

One of the strongest links in the chain of evidence is
probably the heart.

The heart is nothing but a pump and a pump must be
actuated by power of some description. Moreover, it must
be supplied with that power, without intermittency or
difference of pressure, during every second of our lives. What
is that power? Chemical reaction? It is difficult to see
how any series of chemical reactions can be productive of
a regular and unfailing supply of power such as the heart
requires. If such a thing were possible—and I do not for
one moment believe it to be possible—the harmless seidlitz
powder might well be fraught with danger to life.

A more reasonable hypothesis is to regard the lungs as
the generating station, as I have said, and the blood-stream

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY 21

as the carrier of energy. The muscular fibres of the heart
are undoubtedly electrical in character and form part of
an automatic system. The energy supplied to them is
governed and controlled in a very wonderful way, because
although the oxygen intake of man is halved during sleep
the pressure, in normal health, never varies in its proportion.

To fully comprehend this we must recall the fact that by
reason of its greater blood supply the brain is the seat of
highest potential. From the brain issue two branches
of the vagus nerve, called the cardiac branches. Their
function is akin to that of a gas governor which when
the water is sufficiently hot automatically lowers the flame,
or increases it when the temperature of the water falls.
Now the oxygen intake being halved at night the pressure
of the heart’s energy would, failing an arrangement of this
kind, be halved also, but inasmuch as the inhibiting current
from the brain along the cardiac branches of the vagi falls
in the same proportion, the pressure of the energy supplied
to the heart is unaltered.

It will be noted that I hold the human body to be a com-
plicated piece of electrical apparatus, the lungs providing
the battery and the nerves being, to all intents and purposes,
insulated wires. Of what, it will be asked, does their insula-
tion consist ? It consists of several substances, but mainly
of the sheaths of the medullated and the lipoid coatings
of non-medullated nerves; the skin resistance serving to
maintain the body potential within limits consistent with
the safety and comfort of the individual.

As regards the vegetable world, let us, as we have done
with the human body, go back as far as we can, to the
beginning of things, and study the seed; selecting, for
illustration, one with which we are familiar and which is
large enough for its structure to be seen with the naked eye.
We will take an edible chestnut in its pod, for it is very
similar in appearance to a foetus in the womb and for that
reason more than ordinarily interesting.

In normal conditions of weather the air is the positive
and the earth the negative terminal of Nature’s electrical
system. Everything growing in the earth is negatively

22 GERMINATION

charged through the roots, stems and venation, and positively
by the air through the aerole of the leaves, so that in the
roots, stems and venation the tree or plant has its negative
and in the aerole its positive terminals. There is, in fact,
an ordinary electrical circuit, 7.e., air to earth, and earth,
through the plant, to air.

It is well-known that the vegetable cell is practically
identical with the animal cell and that the phenomenon of
division or reproduction is common to both. In at least
one respect a seed does not differ from either vegetable or
animal cell, 7.e., it is a potential Leyden-jar. Furthermore,
as the foetus has no separate and independent existence
but is dependent upon the maternal blood-stream, so the
immature seed in its pod is supported by the parent tree,
and even as the cell cannot reproduce itself without elec-
trical aid, so the seed cannot germinate or be said to live as
a seed until its electrical structure is completed and it is
able to receive and retain charge.

The following sketch is of a young edible chestnut in its
pod, cut in section :

The letters a, a, represent a white, pithy substance,
positively charged by the air; 6 is an inner insulating
membrane enveloping the seed substance, e; and d, an
outer insulating membrane. The negative terminal con-
nects with d, and is the battery wire from the earth, while
c is a moist and markedly acid layer surrounding the seed-
substance, e; this, it will be seen, lies between the two
membranes b and d. The seed-substance itself also contains
an acid secretion.

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY 23

Before the seed can germinate its substance must be con-
tinually and adequately electrified. Why, then, cannot it
germinate while in its pod ?

In the first place, the outer membrane, d, is in contact
both with the negative earth-lead and the positively charged
white pith, with the result that there is partial neutralisation
of charge; I say partial because the seed-substance by
galvanometric test yields a feeble reaction showing weak
electrification, as against the strong electrification of a, a,
andc. Full provision is made for the protection of the seed
during development. The acid, moist layer, c, acts in much
the same way as the copper taping upon a telegraph or
telephone wire, or the lymph-space around a nerve-fibre,
in intercepting induced currents, so that so long as the
layer c is conductive the seed-substance cannot receive
sufficient electrical stimulus to incite it to germination.

To enable it, when mature, to reproduce its species, some
change must of necessity take place, and that change is a
very important one.

When a pod falls from the tree and releases the seed
two things happen almost simultaneously. The outer
membrane d, dries and becomes a non-conductor, and the
layer, c, also dries up and forms a fibroid instead of a con-
ducting layer around the seed-substance.

The subsequent electrical processes can now be readily
understood. The dry outer membrane, d, provides abso-
lute insulation for the seed until such time as it is buried
in the earth. It then, in contact with the damp soil, is
changed into a conductor and forms the outer coating of
tin foil, as it were, of a Leyden-jar. The, now, dielectric
layer, c, and the inner membrane, b, represent the insulating
material of the jar and the moist, acid seed-substance the
inner coating of tin foil.

A diagram will be useful.

Battery (Larth 1... e
fig (3 bis
@ ; ae &

24 GERMINATION

It scarcely calls for explanation; d receives negative
charge from the earth and by induction positively elec-
trifies e, to a potential slightly higher than that of the
earth, because d is of rather greater area than e. In this
manner the seed-substance is continuously electrified and
from the moment d, is capable of transmitting the earth
current it can be said to have begun to live an independent
life, given the requisite conditions of warmth and moisture.

In conclusion, we must, I think, agree that a case has
been made out which goes to show that some connection
exists between electricity and life, and that the popular
belief that “electricity is life” is, after all, not very far
wrong.

If, however, doubt continues to exist in the mind of any
reader he may further inform himself upon the subject by
studying plant life.

Taking as his authorities Schafer, Heckel, Strasburger,
he will observe that the phenomenon of the segmentation
of the ovum is on all fours with that of cell reproduction,
that the fertilisation of the ovum of a mammal by sperma-.
tozoon is almost identical with that of an oosphere by sperma-
tozoids and that there is no essential difference between the
ovule of a gymnosperm and the pregnant human womb.
Proofs can, in fact, be multiplied almost ad infinitum, but
perhaps enough has been written to provide food for thought.

In the final chapter of his Animal Physiology, Dr. Carpenter
writes : ‘‘ We have seen that, however apparently different,
the essential character of the reproductive process is the
same in the highest animal as in the lowest. It has been
shown that the development of the highly organised body
of man commences from the same starting point with that
of the meanest creature living: for even Man was once
but a single cell, undistinguishable, by all human means
of observation from that which constitutes the entire fabric
of the simplest protozoon.”

He might almost have added the “simplest vegetable
organism,” for the reproductive process of the cell of the
diatom is practically the same as that of man.

LIFE AND ELECTRICITY 25

Professor Huxley, writing “‘On the Physical Basis of
Life ’* said: “‘ Thus a nucleated mass of protoplasm turns
out to be what may be termed the structural unit of the
human body. As a matter of fact, the body in its earliest
state, is a mere multiple of such units; and in its perfect
condition, it is a multiple of such units, variously modified.
. . . . What has been said of the animal world is no
less true of plants. Imbedded in the protoplasm at the
broad, or attached, end of the nettle hair, there lies a
spheroidal nucleus. Careful examination proves that the
whole substance of the nettle is made up for repetition of
such masses of nucleated protoplasm, each contained in a
wooden case, which is modified in form, sometimes into a
woody fibre, sometimes into a duct or spiral vessel, sometimes
into a pollen grain, or an ovule. Traced back to its earliest
state the nettle arises as man does, in a particle of nucleated
protoplasm. . . . Thus it becomes clear that all living
powers are cognate, and that all living forms are funda-
mentally of one character. . . . Perhaps it would not
yet be safe to say that all forms of protoplasm are affected
by the direct action of electric shocks ; and yet the number
of cases in which the contraction of protoplasm is shown to
be affected by this agency increases every day.”

*Methods and Essays.

CHAPTER II

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED

QUOTE the following from a work of reference :—

‘‘Seed: In Botany, the mature or fecundated ovule.
It consists essentially of the young plant or embryo, enclosed
in integuments, of which there are two. It varies much
in form; thus it may be rownded, as in the water cress ;
reniform, as in the poppy ; obovate, as in the larkspur, etc.,
similar terms being employed in describing these forms to
those applied to like modifications of other organs. The
outer integument or seed-coat is termed the testa or episperm.
It is usually of a brown or somewhat similar hue, as in the
almond; but it frequently assumes other colours. It
varies in texture, being soft, fleshy, membraneous, coriaceous,
etc. It is often curiously marked with furrows, ridges, etc.,
and often furnished with hairs, spines, wings, and other
appendages. The inner integument is called the tegmen
or endopleura, it is generally of a soft and delicate nature.
A third integument, more or less complete, is occasionally
found on the surface of the others. The inner portion of
the seed, called nucleus or kernel, may either consist of the
embryo alone, as in the wallflower and the bean, or of the
embryo enclosed in albumen or perisperm, as in the pansy.
When the nourishing matter called the albumen is present,
the seed is said to be albuminous ; when it is absent to be
ex-albuminous.”

All dry seeds that I have examined, and they have been
many in number, are, broadly speaking, of the same physical
structure. This consists of an outer coat of varying thick-
ness and density, an inner fibroid lining and a membrane
of a lipoid nature completely enclosing the seed substance ;
which latter has a certain liquid and generally markedly
acid content.

Some months ago I investigated and reported upon the

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED 27

Wulfryn process of seed electrification and a quotation from
that report may not be out of place here. I said:

“‘ During such time as the seed is in process of develop-
ment it is as dependent upon the mother tree or plant as
the unborn child is upon the maternal blood-stream, and
precaution is taken against premature germination by with-
holding from it a perfected electrical system; so soon,
however, as it begins, so to speak, an independent existence
it—and I am including all seeds—becomes a species of
Leyden jar, in order to enable it to receive from the earth,
when in its proper environment, the continuous induced
electrical charge essential to germination.

“‘ This I sought to make clear at the recently held meeting
of the British Association. In its resting stage, that is to
say before it is sown, the seed consists of a dry outer mem-
brane—the seed coat—and a fibroid or lipoid layer between
it and the seed substance itself, which latter is enclosed in
another, and usually thinner, protective membrane. In
that condition it is electrically inert. Before growth can
commence the seed coat must be rendered conductive.
When that is done, by placing the seed in contact with the
soil, the seed coat becomes the outer layer of tinfoil, the inner
fibroid or lipoid lining, together with the inner membrane
the glass of the Leyden-jar, and the seed substance itself,
with its moist and generally acid content, the inner layer of
tinfoil. The electrostatic capacity of the seed is therefore
a matter of very great importance, and this is governed by
(1) the resistance of the seed coat, (2) the specific inductive
capacity of the fibroid or lipoid dielectric, and (3) the nature
and quantity of the liquid content of the seed substance.

‘* A marked difference exists in detail between, for instance,
wheat, oats, barley and rice, but it is mainly in the arrange-
ment of the starch grains. In principle all seeds are the
same, and in them all the embryo radicle, plumule and
cotyledons must, if one seed is to be as good as another,
be equally developed.

“This, obviously, cannot be the case. Some seeds are
blown down by the wind, others are affected by predatory
insects or by disease, while others again are immature when

D

28 GERMINATION

garnered. Taking, for example, the age of matured seed to
be ten months, we have them, in practice, of all ages from.
possibly, four months upwards.

“« Tf a large number of seeds—any seeds—is sown, the most
casual observer must have noticed that they neither ger-
minate at the same time nor produce uniformly vigorous
plants. In every sowing there must be a percentage of
loss.

**The Wulfryn process consists in placing the seed to be
treated in a bath containing a suitable metallic salt such
as calcium or sodium chloride and weakly electrifying the
same for a length of time appropriate to the seed under
treatment. The solution is then run off, and the seed
taken out and dried.

“The object of the salt is not only to decrease the resis-
tance, or, in other words, to increase the conductivity of
the seed coat, but to maintain that conductivity during the
period of germination. Calcium and Sodium in correct
proportions are, moreover, plant foods and assist in the
after stimulation of root production.

‘* Such, in brief, is a description of the process, but, simple
as it appears to be, there is danger of failure if it is handled |
by inexperienced persons.

“The present practice is to dry the seed, by heat, upon
the floor of a malt kiln. Failure, in my opinion, can only
be due to over-heating, which, by diminishing the liquid
content of the seed substance must lower the electrostatic
capacity, and therefore the vitality, of the seed. In a lesser
degree undue hardening of the seed coat would tend to
interfere with, or at least delay, germination.

‘“‘ Successful drying by heat is dependent upon the two
factors of time and temperature, both of which are in turn
dependent upon human intelligence. Drying by air in
motion would eliminate both factors and render the process
as nearly automatic as such a process can be made.

“‘ Tt may be imagined by those who have but an elementary
knowledge of applied electricity that the treated seed,
when dried, is in a condition of comparatively high electri-
fication. That, clearly is not the case.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED 29

“ During such time as the seed is under treatment it is
raised to a potential much higher than that of the air, but
upon removal from the bath and in the course of drying all
or nearly all of the added charge must be given off. As well
expect a Leyden-jar to retain its charge after the inner
coating had been “ earthed.”

“In what way, then, is the treatment beneficial ?

“I did not know, until a long series of experiments had
been carried out. The first fact of importance to be demon-
strated was that the effect of electrical stimulus continued after
disconnection of current, and the second that such stimulus
tended io advance the development of the embryo plumule,
yzadicle and cotyledons.

“Subsequent investigation satisfied me upon both these
points and made it evident that as an actual result the
seeds were rendered far more uniform in the matter of
development than they were before treatment, and that
the percentage of loss to which I have referred should be
largely avoided.

“In other words, the effect of the process is to mature
the seed.

“TI have before me a paper (Annals of Applied Biology,
Vol. VI., No. 1), by Drs. Kidd and West upon “‘ The Influence
of the Physiological Condition of the Seed upon the Course
of subsequent growth and upon the Yield,” in which it is
suggested that treatment of seeds in water as well as in
solutions of various acids and salts beneficially influence
the final yield. That is quite possible. Anything, so long
as it is not injurious to the seed, which lowers the resistance
of the seed coat prior to sowing would be helpful. There
is nothing new init. Some seeds, such as those of the canna
and bamboo, by reason of the hardness and density of the
seed coat, are invariably soaked in water for forty-eight
or more hours. But not only must they then be sown at
once, but the physical structure of the seed is not in any way
affected by immersion in non-electrified solutions, except that
bulk may be slightly increased by swelling. Too prolonged
immersion may also interfere with the resistance of the
fibroid or lipoid inner layer, to the detriment of the seed.”

30 GERMINATION

Let us, however, examine some seeds in detail both before
and after they arrive at maturity, selecting for the purpose
such as are fairly large, and commencing with the horse-
chestnut, or ‘“‘ Conker ” of our boyhood.

Before we consider it in its character of a finished article
it will be as well to see it in its pod, in process of manufac-
ture. In the above drawing a patch of lighter colour
will be seen and in the centre of this a circular dot. Both
are there for a very definite purpose, but we can return to
them later.

The fundamental principle governing the germination
of a seed is this: the seed substance must receive a con-
tinuous charge of electricity ; this charge must be induced
or the seed would rot, and no such charge can be imparted
until the seed becomes in effect a Leyden-jar. Water, air
and warmth are of course necessary, but these also are in
electrical connection; water to give conductivity and
aid in the formation of protoplasm, air to complete the
circuit and warmth to facilitate conduction.

The next drawing is of an immature seed in its pod.

sie fae a
By. betas
Poe ee ME
(ae ene nee
Se ;
Q---------~—--Q

ES thas > Fig 43

a is what is left of the stalk—the battery wire conveying
negative current from the earth; 6b is white pith with an
acid secretion, positively charged by the air; c is a moist
and markedly acid layer surrounding the seed substance d ;

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED 31

é is an outer membrane or seed coat which afterwards turns
brown; f an inner membrane or skin covering the seed
substance, and g the wall of the pod. The seed itself lies
in a bed of chemically neutral white pith.

The stalk, the battery wire, makes contact with the seed
at the circular dot in the middle of Figure 14.

While it is in its pod the seed substance must not be
electrified sufficiently to cause it to germinate. As yet it
is not ready to begin an independent existence.

What are the precautions taken by Nature to prevent
this ?

The earth supplies current as far as the seed coat; the
layer c would take the place of the outer coating of tinfoil,
the inner membrane / the glass of the jar, and the seed
substance d, which also contains an acid secretion—the
inner coating of tinfoil. Why, then, is not the seed
adequately electrified.

The reason is simple. In the first place, the layer c inter-
cepts the charge ; secondly, the patch of lighter colour on
the conker is of much lower resistance than the inner mem-
brane and therefore offers an easier path of escape than
the forced one of induction through the inner membrane.
We have a better view of the layer c, in the following sketch
of a younger seed and it will give us a clearer idea of the
stalk connection :—

fig 16

As a result the seed substance receives a very gentle
electrical stimulus, sufficient to enable it to grow, but quite
insufficient to urge it to premature germination.

But when it has ripened, and the pod, falling, has split
segmentally and ejected the seed, a very important change

32 GERMINATION

takes place. The brown seed coat dries and becomes a
non-conductor and the moist layer c, also dries up and
interposes a layer of non-conducting fibre between the
seed coat and the inner membrane /. We have then the
Leyden-jar minus its outer coating of tinfoil, and without
that coating no inductive action can occur.

That is to protect the seed until such time as it is buried
in the soil. When that happens moisture transforms the
seed coat into a conductor and the Leyden jar is an accom-
plished fact. The seed coat is the outer coating of tinfoil,
the fibroid lining, c, and the inner membrane, /, the glass,
and the seed substance the inner coating of tinfoil; air
in the soil completing the circuit.

If the seed is cut in section a knob-shaped piece, like the
end of a dumb-bell, will be noticed and as growth commences
at this point it would appear that the embryo radicle —_
plumule are ensconced within it.

Next in order we will take an acorn.

In its electrical aspect this seed is practically identical
with the horse chestnut except that the seed coat is not
so fully closed at the apex as to be airtight and it has not
therefore the keeping qualities of the chestnut. In other
respects also there are differences between the acorn and
other seeds. For example, the seed substance of the hazel
nut, which it resembles, mostly remains whole during ger-
mination, except at the point where the radicle and plumule
emerge, but the acorn is formed of two halves within the
inner membrane, and the radicle is connected with each half
by a band or tongue some 3/32nds-inch in width. The
cotyledons of the horse chestnut plant grow from the inner
margin of the seed substance and the central portion, at a
certain stage of growth, becomes detached and, if handled,
falls away.

Acorns are always connected in series upon the parent
oak. The stalk is a continuation of the (earth) battery
wire and inasmuch as the seeds do not, whilst adherent to
the tree, receive a static charge but a direct and continuous
supply of current the circuit is completed by a point at the
apex of the seed being left open to the air. The following

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED 33

illustration will serve to show the electrical connections,
although it is not a good example of the series method.

The earth lead is direct to the cup upon which the acorn
is seated, and the contact upon the latter is clearly shown.

Before I go any further it will be well to state exactly
what I mean by “ static ” charge ; the word “static ” may
be taken too literally.

Static electricity is said to be electricity at rest. Theoreti-
cally it is so. Practically it is not, it is only comparatively
at rest, because if it were really so it would argue perfection
of insulation and that is non-existent. It is really a matter
of relative resistance of parts of the circuit. If a Leyden-jar
is charged it does not retain its charge indefinitely. That it
does so at all is due to the high resistance of the path to
earth (the air), but it gradually loses charge by convection.

In taking the insulation test of a submarine cable the
distant end is freed—by suspending it in the air—or sealed,
and the cable is then charged with a known electromotive
force for a certain number of seconds and the discharge
observed upon the scale of a galvanometer; comparison
being made with a condenser of known capacity. The dis-
charge shows a loss of current, due to leakage through the
gutta-percha to the earth. Without leakage there would
be no circuit and where there is leakage there is electricity
in motion, although it is slow motion. Now there is always
leakage—to a greater or a lesser extent—where electricity
is concerned and electricity in motion is electrical energy.
Germination therefore calls, in my opinion, for an expendi-
ture of energy and not mere electrical pressure, which is
all that a purely static charge could exert. The resistance
of the inner membrane is certainly not greater than that of
gutta-percha and is probably much lower, while air is
present in the soil. The absolute insulation of the seed

34 GERMINATION

substance, however, is, doubtless sufficiently high to ensure
adequate electrical tension.

In Studies in Electro-Physiology, I stated my belief that
puncture of the inner membrane of the acorn—or indeed
of any seed—would prevent germination by reason of inter-
ference with its electrical structure. The experiment had
not then been tried but as it was a point which called for
settlement, I perforated a number of acorns, using for the
purpose an ivory stylus.

Generally speaking this could not be otherwise than fatal
because with the perforation of the insulating membrane
the electrostatic capacity of the seed would be lost. But
such curious provision seems to have been made by Nature
for all sorts of accidents and unfavourable conditions that
if animal instead of vegetable life were concerned we should
suspect intelligence. The “repair outfits’ of vegetables
and fruits has been frequently mentioned by me and it
now remains to be seen what happened to a number of
acorns which were pierced to the centre of the seed and
then potted and left for six weeks before examination.

The first, which fairly represented all the others, with one
exception, presented the following appearance :

Serad Craller. . SJfierad GS rollers

Degeneration proceeded rapidly and it was abundantly
evident that the seed was dead.

But in the case of the exception above-mentioned a very
extraordinary thing had occurred. This seed had germinated
and protruded a radicle four-and-a-half inches in length,
although there was no visible sign of the plumule.

It gave me a very bad quarter of an hour, for notwith-
standing the failure of the others it seemed, upon the face
of it, to be subversive of my theory of electrostatic action
and to render all my work abortive.

But closer scrutiny brought relief. The hole made by the
stylus had been accidentally plugged with clay in the course

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED 35

of potting and that rough measure of repair the seed had
improved upon by forming a fibroid layer to cover the hole,
rendering it continuous with the inner membrane.

In section it appeared thus:

_~-- fibreid layer

That, to my mind, sufficiently proved the point. The
insulation of the seed must be intact if germination is to
take place and I imagine that the plug of clay filled the
temporary purpose of enabling metabolism to proceed.

We have duly noted the fact that the seed requires warmth
as well as moisture and oxygen to enable it to germinate
and the degree of warmth is, I take it, in accordance with
the chemical secretion and physical structure of the seed.
In cold weather not only is the resistance of the electrolytes
in the soil increased so that less current is present in the
environment of the seed, but the resistance of the liquid
content of the seed substance is also enormously in-
creased ; two conditions which militate against that full
measure of electrification upon which germination is
dependent. Free oxygen has the same important part
to play in development—from the pollen to the mature
plant—as it has in the development of the animal cell into
the adult animal body. As the mother of the unborn child
could not sustain life in it or in herself without oxygen
for the generation of nerve force, so the mother plant needs
it to reinforce the supply to the ovules and to the seeds,
while the seeds themselves could not develop the plumule
and therefore become plants without it.

So far I have only spoken of the seed coat as the outer
coating of tinfoil of the Leyden-jar, but it undoubtedly has
other uses and purposes, such, for instance, as affording
protection from enemies and from accident, and particularly
in preventing an excess of moisture from reaching the inner
membrane and so tending to break down its resistance,
although this danger is specially guarded against by its
composition.

36 . GERMINATION

Let us now consider the walnut, and its pod.

It has often been said that the tendency of modern
scientific thought is towards materialism. To my mind
that is incomprehensible. The student of the electro-
physiology of animate nature finds a sermon in every seed
and a revelation of the wonderful work of the Creator in
everything that lives.

More particularly and clearly is this brought home to one
when those inhabitants of the vegetable kingdom which are
designed for food come under notice. The horse chestnut
is a seed, pure and simple; the edible chestnut something
more. Both are electrical throughout, but their structure
and equipment differ. The walnut resembles neither of
them, in its entirety, but has features in common with the
edible chestnut, the hazel nut, the acorn and, I have no
doubt, many other and similar products of Nature.

Before describing the electrical construction of the walnut,
however, I should like to call attention to a matter which
hitherto I have not thought to be within my purview, but
which may, upon further investigation, be found to be in
electrical association. I am referring to colour, to which
subject a fellow student, Dr. A. White Robertson, has given
prominence in his Studies in Electro-Pathology.

Chlorophyll is known to be developed in the presence of
light, and we are aware, or have been told, that most of the
chemical changes which take place in the plant occur through
chlorophyll. Furthermore we know, from experience, that
deprivation of light involves loss or absence of chlorophyll in
the leaves of many plants with which we are familiar, such,
for instance, as the Aspidistria.

Now the outer perimeter of the pod of the walnut is rich
in chlorophyll. Inside the outer skin is a positively charged
moist layer, some 3/16ths-inch thick, also containing
green colouring matter of the exact tint of chlorephyll.
Between that and the shell is a white membrane—a mem-
brane free from colour. Nor does the mature shell contain
green pigment.

But at an early stage of development the embryo shell
presents itself as a moist layer, about 3/32nds-inch thick,

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED 37

also rich in green pigment and highly electrified, while the
membrane to which I have referred, is white. If the green
pigment is chlorophyll it must be electrically as well as
optically influenced ; otherwise I am ata loss for an explana-
tion of the phenomenon, the embryo shell being in a state
of absolute darkness, as well as the membrane.

We may now have a look at the walnut in its electrical
aspect, commencing with a longitudinal section of the nut
in its pod.

it ee Ed ni
2 leet alee a
ven
a
on. eae
x 8)
oh: Oe ea é

Fig lE

SECTION OF WALNUT.

@, cavity; 6, seed substance; ¢c, positive moist pith; d@, non-conducting
dry fibre; ¢, negative terminal; /, negative tongue; g, positive terminal.

As in the case of the horse and edible chestnut, the hazel
nut and the acorn, the seed substance is only feebly electrified
and the secretion acid ; in this instance, mildly acid. The
negative terminal—the stalk—connects with the tongue-
like piece, /, and the negative system appears to be confined
to this and to terminate at the dry fibrous, semi-spatulate
point, 4, which, with its wings, insulates it from the positive
part, c.

fe ee

fi.49

WALNUT SHELL AND NEGATIVE SYSTEM.

38 GERMINATION

Viewing the first sketch in plan the moist positive pith,
¢, surrounds the negative tongue, f, and there is little or no
doubt that this is charged directly by the air through the
shell, which at all stages within the pod is conductive,

The pod itself is composed of three layers, 7.e., the outer
hard, but thin green coating, then a moist layer, 1/8th to
3/16ths-inch thick, and a thin, white inner membrane lining
the cavity in which the nut lies. The second layer is positive
and connects only with the flower end of the pod.

The inner membrane of the pod, instead of being chemi-
cally neutral, as in the case of the horse chestnut, is markedly
acid and it will be seen that when the nut is removed from
its pod the posterior half of the shell—calling the flower end
the apex—is always wet. I take it, therefore, that up to and
including this stage induction plays no part in the electri-
fication of the seed substance, but that the pod is directly
charged by the earth and the air, and that precautions are
taken, as before, to prevent more than a fraction of that
charge reaching the immature embryo. Corroboration of
this view is furnished by the third sketch which shows
the embryo shell in the form of a moist, green pigmented
layer, 1, about 3/32nds-inch thick, between the membranous
covering of the seed substance and the inner membrane of
the pod.

WALNUT.—Transverse Section.

After removal from the tree and therefore disconnection
with the earth, the pod in which the seed is contained con-
tinues to receive charge from the air but it has fulfilled
its purpose and thereafter induction is necessarily a factor
in the life history of the walnut.

Both as a seed and a food, but more particularly in the
latter regard, it is interesting to observe the measures taken

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SEED 39

by the Great Electrician to safeguard it from the possibility
of premature germination and decay. This is achieved by
balancing the negative and positive electrifications and
providing the seed substance with a tough highly resistant,
air-tight envelope or membrane. When, however, the nut
is discharged from the pod and buried in the earth, the shell,
and the pith within it become negatively electrified and so
_ the conductive seed substance in its insulating membrane
obtains by induction the continuous electrical charge
without which germination could not proceed.

As the inner membrane of the pod, together with the
middle layer, is markedly acid and is connected electrically
with the remains of the flower we can see in what manner
positive charge is conveyed to the acidulated pith, c, and
divine the purpose and meaning of the cavity, a, with its
non-conducting fibrous lining.

The stalk is somewhat remarkable for the comparatively
large sectional area of the conductor.

In a specimen before me the section has an outside dia-
meter of 3/16ths-inch, the conductor being stained with
green pigment, and an inside diameter of 1/16th-inch,
exactly centred. It, in fact, presents the appearance of a
section of a heavily insulated metallic conductor; the
material surrounding the earth-lead being fibroid in character
and darker in colour.

In regard to what I have termed a “ repair outfit ”’ lost
insulation is partly, if not fully regained by the exudation
of wax upon the cut surfaces—a feature it possesses in
common with other nuts—while long life is ensured to the
seed substance by an ample liquid content and its tough
air-tight membranous envelope.

Bo fhe en
ong

¢

ee

SECTION OF WALNUT.—With positive pith, c, removed.

40 GERMINATION |

The last drawing shows the nut with the positive pith, c,
removed ; the dark space on either side of the seed sub-
stance giving an idea of its extent. On the right may also
be seen a portion of the fibrous membrane in which it is
enclosed, and at the apex the remains of the flower.

In conclusion, the careful student will not fail to note
that whereas in the horse and the edible chestnuts no traces
of the flower appear, their structure differs electrically from
that of the walnut and that the flower opening is in their
case unnecessary.

CHAPTER III

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY—AND
IN RELATION TO SIGN OF CURRENT

\ A JE have remarked that the tendency of seed electri-
fication is to mature or advance the development
of the embryo but when we ponder the application of
electricity to horticulture and agriculture the first and
most important thing to bear in mind is Nature’s own method.
The air is the positive and the earth the negative terminal
of the natural electrical system, and the current is con-
tinuous, not alternating.

We may improve along those lines, but if we depart from
them we shall, I think, waste time.

Now, positive air and negative earth mean that there is,
in normal conditions of weather, a downward driving force,
with a return through the roots, stem and venation of the
plant; the aerole of the leaves taking in oxygen—plus
air electrification and light energy to stimulate them to
growth.

Light energy is not yet fully understood but it is to be
reckoned with because we know from experience that it
is too powerful for young seedlings, which require to be
shielded from it.

When plants are grown in pots they are cut off from
the negative earth current and the moist soil in the pot,
possessing, as it does, capacity, takes its charge from the
positive air, and the plant reverses its polarity, becoming
positive where an earth-grown plant is negative and vice
versa. The effect of this is to stimulate upward growth,
and were the electromotive force higher there would be
very little root production. Such plants are not, in fact,
grown naturally and would be far better if the soil in the
pots could be connected, by means of a metallic conductor,
with the earth; other things, of course, being equal.

42 GERMINATION

To show that this is not mere theory I will give an account
of experiments carried out during the past two years.

There is, I need hardly say, a great deal of difference
between seed electrification and electrification of the soil.
When the so-called electrified seed is sown it is not electrified,
but is just an ordinary seed in a state of maturity, and
with germination and the consequent rupture of the inner
membrane it ceases to possess electrostatic capacity,
becomes a seedling and takes its charge direct from the
earth, first through the lower end of the radicle and later
through the filaments which the radicle throws out. But
when electricity is applied to the soil there is continuous
electrification of the seed and of the seedling also and the
electromotive force and sign of current incidental to that
added stimulus should be studied and their effect observed.

In Soil Conditions and Plant Growth, Dr. Russell writes
upon the supposed stimulation of plants by electricity,
heat and radium, as follows:

“Tue Exxotric DiscHarGce. It has often been stated
that an electric discharge increases the rate of growth of
plants either by direct action on the plant, or by indirect
action in the soil. As far back as 1783 the Abbé Bertholon
constructed his electro-vegetometre, a kind of lightning
conductor that collected atmospheric electricity and then
discharged it from a series of points over the plant. The
view that atmospheric electricity is an important factor in
crop growth has always found supporters in France.
Grandeau stated that plants protected from atmospheric
electricity by a wire cage made less growth than control
plants outside. Lesage confirmed this observation, but
found that silk thread caused as much retardation as wire,
so that the effect is not 1 ecessarily electrical: in point of
fact the rate of evaporation was considerably less under
the cage than in the open. G

“Instead of relying on atmospheric electricity Lemstrom
generated electricity on a large scale and discharged it from
a series of points fixed on wires over the plant. This method
has been used at Bitton, near Bristol, and studied on the
electrical side by Sir Oliver Lodge, on the botanical side

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 43

by J. H. Priestley, and on the practical side by J. E. Newman.

*‘ Numerous field experiments are recorded, but there is
usually some uncertainty about the check plots. The
Bromberg experiments gave negative results.

“Various Rays. Recent experiments by Miss Dudgeon
are quoted by Priestley to show that the rays of the Cooper-
Hewitt Mercury Vapour Lamp have a very stimulating
effect, accelerating germination and increasing growth to
a remarkable extent. Priestley found that the rays from a
quartz mercury vapour lamp were harmful at close range ”
(too violent a discharge) “‘ whilst further off they stimulated
growth. There is great scope for work in this direction ;
the problem is of great economic importance, because of the
enhanced value of early crops.

*‘Errect oF Heat. Molisch has shown that perennial
plants steeped in hot water towards the close of their
deepest period of rest come at once into activity. His
hypothesis is that the “rest ” required by plants is of two
kinds, the freiwillig rest, due to external conditions and
therefore capable of being shortened, and the unfreiwillig
rest, inherent in the nature of the plant. Parkinson has
tested the method with satisfactory results; spirea, rhu-
barb, seakale, etc., steeped for twelve hours in water at
95° at the end of November or early in December, made
rapid growth when subsequently forced.”

This I can quite understand as numerous experiments
have shown that the impetus to growth given by any
stimulus beneficial to the plant—or seed—continues for
some time after the stimulus has been cut off.

“EFFECT oF Rapium. Among the many remarkable
properties of radium it was perhaps natural to expect that
it might have some definite effect on plants, and even, under
suitable conditions, cause sufficient increase in the amount
‘of growth to justify its use in horticulture and agriculture.
The early observations of Dixon and Wigham at. Dublin,
however, did not seem very promising: one hundred seeds
of cress (Lepidium Sativum) were uniformly distributed
on an even surface of moist quartz sand, and after germina-
tion had taken place, a sealed tube containing five mgs.

E

ad GERMINATION

of radium bromide was set one cm. above the central seed.
The seedlings grew up, but without any curvature, indicating
positive or negative ‘‘ radiotropism,” and the only noticeable
effect was a slight depression of growth in those within
one cm. radius of the tube. As stronger preparations of
radium became available more definite retardations and
inhibitions were observed; thus Gager, in an elaborate
report, noted a more or less complete inhibition in cell
activities in younger and especially embryonic tissues, with
a few exceptions. The action of radium through the soil,
however, was different; germination and growth were
both accelerated, and the plants farthest away were stimu-
lated most. Acqua found that different plants, and even
different organs of the same plant, were differently affected,
the root system in general responding more markedly than
the aerial parts, and in his experiments being arrested in
their development. . .. .

“These and similar results naturally suggested that the
residues left after the extraction of radium, but still contain-
ing radio-active material, might have definite manurial
value, and it was not long before definite statements were
forthcoming. Baker claimed that increased yields of wheat,
and radishes had been obtained by mixing one part of radio-
active material . . . with ten of soil. It is true that
Stoklasa’s results were negative . . . but this did
not prevent the introduction of radio-active fertilisers,
and the enterprising syndicates and companies concerned
were by no means loth to push their wares. These were
investigated by Martin H. F. Sutton, the experiments being
made with radishes, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots,
and marrows, some grown in pots, others in plots out of doors.
Hight different radium residues were used, in addition to
pure radium bromide ; the dressings were so arranged that
the equivalent quantities of radium were given in each
case (1/400th gm. radium bromide to 15-lbs. of soil: 2%
times this amount per square yard to the plots).

““In no case was there any clear evidence of increased
growth: even the pure radium bromide seemed to be with-
out action.

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 45

**We are therefore left with the apparent discrepancy
already observed. . . . The work of the physiologists,
assuming it to be sound, certainly indicated that radium
emanation is capable of stimulating certain cell activities.
Sutton’s results show that such stimulus, if it exists, does
not affect the final growth of the plant. This discrepancy
is periodically confronting the agricultural investigator.”

I know as little about radium as most people, but it is
said to discharge an electroscope and the alpha rays are
stated to be positively charged. An effect upon animal
cells has been that of over-ionisation which may certainly
be called stimulus but which when applied to normally
ionised tissue might well lead to a multiplication of centro-
somes and the exaggerated and irregular form of mitosis
associated with cancer.

As regards the rest of the quotation I have made from
Dr. Russell’s valuable work I need only say that for the
most part the experiments he describes as having been
attended by negative results are more indicative of groping
in the dark than of following and attempting to improve
upon natural laws.

Writing upon the stimulus of light, Bose (Comparative
Electro-Physiology, p. 557) instances the very interesting
experiment of Sach’s, in which a long shoot of Cucurbita
‘was made to grow inside a dark box, the rest of the plant
being exposed to light.

** The covered part of the plant, under these circumstances,
showed normal growth of stem and leaves. Normal flowers
and a large fruit were also produced in the same confine-
ment. The tendrils inside the box, moreover, were found
to be fully as sensitive as those outside. The transmission
of stimulus by the plant, in such a way as effectively to
maintain such complex life activities as motility and growth,
even in the absence of direct stimulation, is thus fully demon-
strated. And we may gather an idea from this fact of the
fundamental importance, to the life of the plant, of those
nervous elements by which this is rendered possible.

“One of the most important functions of the venation
of the leaf, not hitherto suspected, is now made clear to us.

46 GERMINATION

Among external stimuli, none perhaps is so essential, or so
universally and easily available to green plants, as energy
of light. And we now see that the fine ramification of fibro-
vascular elements over as wide an area as possible in the
leaf, provides a virtual catchment-basin for the reception
of stimulus. The expanded lamina is thus not merely a
specialised structure, for the purpose of photo-synthesis,
but also a sensitive area for the absorption of stimulus, the
effect of which is gathered into larger and larger nerve-
trunks, in the course of its transmission downwards into
the body of the plant.”

That hypothesis, however, is not supported by the fact
that the venation of the leaf is of negative sign, whereas
light energy cannot be otherwise than of positive sign ;
the air sign.

Professor Bose favours the absorption theory, animal
and plant are accumulators, dependent upon some outside
source of energy for their activating force. Acceptance of
that theory would not only involve complete disregard of
the electrical interchanges between atmosphere and earth
which are constantly taking place, and their unchanging
polarities, but would enforce the belief that Nature places
sole dependence upon a form of energy which not only varies
in intensity almost from moment to moment, but which, for
an appreciable part of each twenty-four hours practically
ceases to exist.

Upon the testimony of the galvanometer the venation of
the leaf of any earth-grown plant is always negative, and
it is much more reasonable to postulate that if light-energy
is absorbed, as I have no doubt it is, in combination with
air, absorbed, it is a function of the aerole and not of the
venation of the leaf. The earth-current may be shut off
by the leaf being removed from the plant, or the tree, and
light may be temporarily shut off without the leaf dying.
But so long as it is not deprived of air it will continue to
live until, by reason of loss of moisture, there is complete
cessation of conductivity. Up to that moment the aerole
take in positive charge and the venation remains, by induc-
tion, negative.

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 47

With Professor Bose’s conclusion, however, I am
thoroughly in agreement. He says:

“It is thus seen how all parts of the plant are, by means
of nerve-conduction, maintained in the most intimate
communication with each other. It is, then, by virtue of
the existence of such nerves, that the plant constitutes a
single organised whole, each of whose parts is affected by
every influence that falls upon any other.”

In the experiments I am about to describe continuous
current from one or more dry cells employed throughout
and in most cases applied to the soil in the pot; or, in a
few instances only, to the soil and the plant or object under
observation.

UpwarpD Drivine Force. Lone Scar“tet RaApIsH.

A number of seeds of the long scarlet radish were sown
in the open ground, in a South border, under normal condi-
tions, and an equal number in a 5-inch pot, the soil in which
was electrified by means of a dry cell of 1.5 volt, positive
to bottom, negative to top of soil; the pot being placed
in a cool greenhouse.

The plants in the open
ground showed above soil in
seven days; those in the
pot in four days. The former
however, made much more
vigorous growth. Four days
later the pot plants had
grown so tall and anzemic
that their stems failed to
support them; one having
a three inch stem before
forming its second leaves.
In the accompanying sketch an electrified radish is seen
on the left and one of the controls from the open ground
on the right. It calls for no remark from me.

48 GERMINATION

GRASSES.

Three tufts of grass of the same species and the same
size were selected and potted under exactly the same
conditions in 5-inch pots ; the blades being cut with scissors
in each to a height of 2-inches above the soil. We will call
them A, B, and C.

A was not electrified but a piece of prepared arc carbon
was placed near the upper surface of the soil ;

B was potted in the ordinary way as a control, and

C was electrified by means of a dry cell of 1.5 volt, positive
to bottom, negative to top of soil.

All three pots were placed in a good light in a cool green-
house and given the same quantity of water daily. Their
progress was as follows :-—

Nine days later—
A Gain in height equalled 34-inches.
B wi if »» #-inch.
C ne 3s »» 4-inches.

After twelve days—
A Total gain in height equalled 44-inches.
B o ted “a 14-inches.
C re Bs Bs 5}-inches.

After fourteen days—

A Total gain in height equalled 6}-inches.

B cK ah a 2-inches.

C m a i 63-inches.

A, appeared to be more robust than either of the
others. The cell of C, was found to be dis-
connected which no doubt accounted for some
slackening down.

After sixteen days—
A Total gain in height equalled 7-inches.
B és mn 2s 23-inches.
C Wi 55 m 73-inches.

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 49

_ After eighteen days—
A Total gain in height equalled 7}-inches.

B is Wy e 3-inches.

Cc 8}-inches.

Note. The tallest blade "of C, fell and required
support.

After thirty-three days—
A Total gain in height equalled 84-inches.
B a me Se 54-inches.
C Le 103-inches.
Note.—C, had apbarenthy recovered pee the effect
of the disconnection and was making up for
lost time.

Final observation was taken forty-five days after potting
and the result was—
A Total gain in height equalled 9-inches.
B ~ a Fe 6-inches.
C 4 ue ne 124-inches.

From the foregoing it would appear at first sight that
electrification, as applied in this instance, had had a bene-
ficial effect upon growth. But in reality it was far from
beneficial. What it did was to force abundant, hair-like
growth and inhibit root production. Upon examination
of the roots I found—

A Roots in dense white bands, filling the pot and
protruding from the bottom.
B Similar to A, but not quite as advanced.
C Hair-like and so few in number that they were
scarcely perceptible.
Some explanation of the carbon will no doubt be expected.
Arc carbon when treated to increase its density—in the
course of which treatment it is subjected to molecular
disturbance—gives out a positive force which is clearly not
electricity but which may be said to resemble it. The
object of employing it in these experiments was to increase
the potential of the positive charge from air to soil.
The foregoing test of grasses confirmed the view I held
that electrical intensification should not greatly exceed

50 GERMINATION

that of the earth and that an upward driving force would
presumably stimulate upward growth, to the detriment of
root production. I was not, however, altogether satisfied
and determined to try the effect of difference of polarity,
that is to say, using cells of 1.0 volt, connecting one with
positive to bottom and negative to top of soil, and the other,
as a control, with negative to bottom and positive to top. -

For this experiment I took two potatoes, as nearly as
possible of equal size and potted them half in and half out
of the soil in 6-inch pots; call them again A and B.

a. Sesh needle

Fig. 23 fig. 24

Both pots were placed in a dull diffused light in the
potting shed and left for thirty days, when the cells were
disconnected. Examination was made one hundred and -
thirty-six days after potting.

B, that is the one with the upward driving force, showed
nine strong shoots, 3-inch in thickness and 1-inch
to 3}-inches high. From the base of the largest of
these three other shoots branched out thus:

as well as numerous filament-like upper growths.
From another shoot there were thirty of these latter
and from a third not only seven side growths from
3-inch to 1}-inches by }-inch, but about twenty fila-
mentary ones. The shoots, in fact, all exhibited

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 51

this side-growth, and root-filaments appeared above
the surface of the soil.

A, on the other hand, had only five shoots, none of them
more than 3-inch by }j-inch at base, but very
numerous side shoots, }-inch thick and at least one
nearly l-inch in length. Of these I counted seven-
teen, not including filamentary growths, which,
however, were nearly so numerous as in B.

Removed from the pot and the soil washed away, B was
seen to be destitute of root development (it having only
two root-hairs depending from one shoot and these only
13-inches in length). The tuber was rather flabby and
shrivelled.

Here the upward driving force had only manifested itself
in the thick crowded upper growth to the neglect of root
production and of shoots below the soil such as were exhibited
by A.

Upon removing A from the pot a dense root growth was
seen, with three other shoots growing upwards (making
twelve in all) and there was no shrinkage of the tuber, nor
any sign of young potatoes. Cut in section the tuber was
perfectly firm and fresh; a slight discolouration, due to
electrolysis, merely showing where the needle had entered.

B, however, when cut was not only flabby and somewhat
shrivelled but both halves soon after turned brown, except
in a curve from top to bottom so that they appeared thus :

The parts cross-hatched were very flabby.

52 GERMINATION

For some reason which I fail to remember I did not
photograph them but a rough sketch, taken at the time,
will give an idea of the final appearance of the plants after
separation from the tubers.

In this case the abnormal upward weak growth exhibited
by the radish and the grass was not repeated but the absence
of root production in B, was confirmatory of the grass
experiment. There was abnormal growth in both A and B
and from other data in my possession I am inclined to think
that the comparatively high electrical stimulus brought
about a multiplication of centrosomes so that the cells
instead of dividing each into two daughter cells, divided
into a greater number and of the two the growth of B, that

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 53

with the upward driving force, would appear to be the most
unnatural.

TOMATOES.

Experiments with tomatoes gave curious results. Com
paratively high electrification (2 volts to a 10-inch pot
with negative pole to bottom of soil and positive to aerole
of leaf induced rapid growth in the lowest cluster of fruit
but not in those above it. Side growths such as were
observed in the potatoes of the last experiment appeared
upon the stem, and the tomatoes ripened and turned red
before they had attained any size. Plants in other pots,
in which pieces of arc carbon had been placed just below
the surface of the soil not only made good progress but were
vigorous and healthy and fruited well. As, however,
there were no controls the experiments possess little value.

WINTER-CHERRY PLANTS.

These were interesting. There were two plants, identical
in size and condition. One was left untouched as a control
and the other electrified by means of a cell of 1 volt, positive
to soil and negative to aerole of a leaf; contact with the
latter being made with a steel needle joined to flexible
insulated wire.

That the stimulated plant made better progress than the
control there could be no manner of doubt, but it soon
became evident that 1 volt was too much for it, because
the flowers displayed a tendency to fall off, and I came to
the conclusion that the flowering process should not be
unduly hurried and disconnected the cell for forty-eight
hours. This, however, was followed by a slackening of
growth and upon repeating alternate connection and dis-
connection noticed that the rate of growth varied accordingly,
that is to say, it decreased with disconnection and increased
when the current was again applied, but not at once: there
was always an interval of inertia. After a total of ten days
electrification the plant had four berries and twenty-three
flowers as against the three berries and eight flowers of the

54 GERMINATION

control and was taller and more umbrageous than the
control.

One lesson to be learned not only from my experiments
but from those of which account is given by Dr. Russell
is that no matter what stimuli are used, whether the stimulus
of electricity, of heat, of light, or of radium, they can only
be said to benefit the plant when they are attenuated. The
average electromotive force of anything growing in the
earth, from the smallest plant to the largest tree, from the
smallest apple to the largest vegetable marrow, is under
0.1 volt, and it seems as unreasonable and unscientific to
make too wide a departure from that voltage, as it would
be to largely exceed the maximum normal temperature.

As regards light we are told upon the authority of Clerk-
Maxwell and Sir Oliver Lodge that light is an electro-
magnetic disturbance of the ether. Optics is a branch of
electricity, and it is quite conceivable, and indeed probable,
that the potential of light increases as progress is made
from the red to the violet end of the spectrum and that
there is a discharge of electricity of ever increasing intensity.

Another matter of very great importance is sign of current.
I may be labouring the point but I have found, during the
course of hundreds of experiments that reversal of the
natural sign, 7.e., the downward driving force—invariably
leads to enforced upward growth and diminished root
production. In this way I have grown plants from mustard
seed four feet high but there was very little root, and very
few seeds. It is necessary to adhere to Nature’s method
and the ideal thing, in my opinion, would be to pay far more
attention to light-frequencies and to restrict electrification
of the air and soil to a voltage only slightly in excess of
that which now obtains.

Hitherto I have only employed the prepared are carbon
to give out positive charge to soil in pots, with a view to
augmenting the air-charge, and this answers better than
electrification of the soil with one volt. To assist germina-
tion, however, and to help the plant to vigorous life it is
desirable to oxygenate the soil, so that when the rupture
of the seed coat takes place and the radicle pushes its way

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 55

downwards a supply of oxygen may be assured to the
seedling.

Now carbon has great affinity for oxygen, will readily
absorb it and give it out again under the pressure of water.
This, no doubt, is the reason why, taught by experience,
gardeners place pieces of charcoal in the soil of the pot.

Bose, whose work to me possesses only academic interest,
inasmuch as I am dense enough to fail to see its practical
application, says that ‘‘ one mode of increasing the internal
energy of a plant is by a moderate rise of temperature
a steady rise of temperature brings about an increase of
internal energy, while a sudden variation of temperature
acts as a stimulus. Thus, if we effect a sudden augmenta-
tion of temperature, this will act upon the organ, during
the period of variation, as a stimulus; but afterwards,
when the temperature itself, or its rate of rise, has become
steady, the condition will act by increasing the internal
energy of the organ.”

I have the greatest possible respect for Professor Bose
(Comparative Electro-Physiology), but while the effect of a
rise of temperature may appear to increase the internal
energy of a plant, it does not, strictly speaking, do so;
the energy is there all the time. What it does do is to induce
an increased flow of energy by reducing the internal resistance
of the plant.

It is, I think, a false conclusion to come to, and false
conclusions lie at the root of mistaken theory. The student
might be led to believe that the additional energy alleged
to be imparted to the plant was contained in heat, whereas
the phenomenon was due to decreased resistance and not to
augmented pressure.

The Table given (page 430) of ‘The Effect of rise of
Temperature on Velocity” (of transmission of electrical
impulse) sufficiently shows this :

At 30°c. the velocity was 3.7 mm.; at 35°c., 7.4
mm., and at 37°c., 9.1 mm. per second.

Increase of energy, or of flow, is a secondary, not a
primary consequence of rise of temperature and if instead

56 GERMINATION

of “stimulus” we substitute the word “ irritation,” we
can better understand what happened.

In Chapter II. I have stated that the effect of electrical
stimulation continues after disconnection of current and
this statement deserves attention for it has a direct bearing
upon karyokinesis and upon the possible production of
cancer in vegetables, as we shall see when we come to the
study upon the subject.

Writing of excitations induced by light, Bose says that
“energy may find outward expression, even after the cessa-
tion of the stimulus.’’ An example of this was seen in the
mechanical response of a Desmodium leaflet. ‘“‘ The plant
was at first in a sub-tonic condition, and the autonomous
pulsation of its lateral leaflets had come to a standstill.
One of these was now exposed to the continuous action of
light and its record taken. . . . Under this stimulus
of light, multiple responses were initiated, which persisted
for a time as an after-effect, even on the cessation of light.”
In taking electrical records of the after-effect of stimulation
by light he obtained similar mutiple after-effects.

He expresses the opinion that “a plant or an animal is
an accumulator which is constantly storing up energy from
external sources, and numerous manifestations of life—
often periodic in their character—are but responsive expres-
sions of energy which have been derived from external
sources and is held latent in the tissue.”

That reminds me of Dr. Keith Lucas’ theory of the
conduction of the nervous impulse. Hesaid: “. . . that
the nervous impulse depends for its transmission va the
supply of energy by the nerve along its course. If this view
is correct we may be justified in supposing that by its very
nature the nervous impulse is dependent for its intensity
only on the conditions which it encounters during conduc-
tion and not on the intensity with which it is initiated.”

As well imagine a flow of water without any difference
of level, or a current, too weak to actuate the instrument
at the other end, setting out upon its passage through an
Atlantic cable, dependent upon the kindness of an earth-
current to help it along.

UPON ELECTRICAL STIMULI GENERALLY 57

Theories of that kind coming as they do from highly
educated men, fill me with astonishment. Animals and
plants possess considerable electrostatic capacity—that of
man is equivalent to about fifteen miles of Atlantic cable—
and by reason of that capacity are able to absorb energy
of an electrical nature. But the plant is sustained and
stimulated into growth by energy imparted to it by earth
and air, while animals generate it by the act of breathing.
It is not possible to kill or seriously impair the health of
any animal or plant by placing it for long periods in contact
with an “earth” of negligible resistance. That would
effectually cut all external sources of energy, other than air.

The argument therefore resolves itself into this: “ both
animals and plants are dependent entirely upon air—because
we do not always have light—for their existence. That is,
to a certain extent, true because both animal and plant
require oxygen in a diluted form for the generation of vital
forces but to assume that neither are able to generate as well
as to store motive power is to negative, among other things,
the theory of intra-cellular generation, to suppose that
iron fills no purpose in the animal and plant body and that
oxygen is not in any way associated with electrical
phenomena.

Air is a great factor in vegetable life, quite apart from
oxygen, when it is in combination with light. An onion,
for example, is a self-contained electrical cell. It may be
short circuited through a very low resistance for many
months without showing any sign of polarisation or loss of
current. When earthed in vacuo it, as I have before
remarked, soon becomes exhausted but wil] revive almost
at once if placed in a good light in the open air; otherwise
the process of recovery is slow. That goes to show that
energy of an electrical nature is derivable from air. But a
single fact does not necessarily establish a hypothesis, and
to postulate that man is an accumulator dependent for his
energy upon some external, and occasionally irregular,
source of supply is hardly reasonable.

CHAPTER IY.

ACORNS

GERMINATION AND THE SEEDLINGS

Position and Arrangement of the Embryo

N all seeds which have arrived at maturity the embryo
radicle, plumule and cotyledons have been perfectly
formed within the seed substance before the seed left the
mother plant and were we speaking of animal bodies we could
say that the fetus had arrived at completion and awaited
the moment when it could begin to live its own life.

The size and arrangement of the embryo differ with the
order to which the seeds belong. As Lord Avebury tells
us, there are “many whole orders in which the ripe seed
is entirely occupied by the embryo ; ; in other cases, again,
as in Delphiniwm, the embryo is very small, and examples
of PRET intermediate stage might be given.

“ Where it is an advantage to the plant that germination
should be rapid, this of course can be more readily secured
if the embryo is large. In fact, we find that species with
large embryos, such, for instance, as the cabbage or pea,
germinate much more rapidly than those, such as Umbellifers,
Ranunculacee, etc., in which the embryos are small.

“In albuminous seeds the arrangement of the embryo
presents no special difficulties, as the endosperm simply fills
up all vacant spaces. In ex-albuminous, on the contrary,
Nature has to exercise much ingenuity, and adopt various
devices to fill up the whole space.”

The chief difficulty in almost every case seems to be with
the cotyledons, which instead of being just ordinary first-
leaves, assume all sorts of curious forms. From the last
quoted source I learn that ‘‘ When the testa does not readily
split, and where in large seeds there is no endosperm, the
difficulty of unfolding the cotyledons and extracting them

ACORNS 59

from the seed becomes great, and we arrive at cases where
Nature seems to have abandoned the attempt, and, as in the
Oak and Horse Chestnut, the cotyledons never quit the
seed ; while those of the Walnut never quit the shell.”

_In the Acorn the embryo radicle and plumule are con-
tained near the apex of the seed, as in the Hazel Nut and
other seeds of similar shape. Very shortly after germina-
tion has commenced they can be seen, if the seed is cut open,
with the unaided eye and present the following appearance :

Radile & Plumiule..._4¢\---Cotyledon

V0. 28

The outer ellipse being the stalks or beginning of the
cotyledons which do not in the least suggest having anything
to do with leaves. To this ellipse I shall hereafter refer
as the collar. And here let me remark that the first sign
of germination, of life, is not the rupture of the seed coat
but the visibility of the embryo; some growth having
invariably taken place before it can be plainly discerned.

_ From the time of the first sowing in the open ground and
certainly before the rupture of the inner membraneous coating,
the seed substance is positively charged.

We can foresee what will happen when the seed is stimu-
lated into life. The embryo radicle will rupture the inner
membrane and take a downward course, the plumule will
grow upwards—both still adherent to the seed—and in due
course the first leaves will peep above the soil and come
for the first time into contact with light, though not for the
first time with oxygen. We may therefore usefully ponder
(1) How after the loss of electrostatic capacity is the elec-
trical system of the seedling maintained? (2) In what
manner is it protected against possibly injurious light-
frequencies ? (3) How is it provided with oxygen? and
(4) What is the probable function of chlorophyll ?

We need not attempt to answer those questions in the
order in which they are asked, but will endeavour to deal

F

60 GERMINATION

with them all in this chapter. First as to chlorophyll;
which in my view is to the plant what hemoglobin is to
the animal. :

In Physiological Chemistry, Matthews says: The
chemical composition of chlorophyll is not yet known.

; When decomposed it yields, like hemoglobin, the
colouring matter of the blood, pyrrol derivatives. It is
evidently related more or less closely to the hematin of
the hemoglobin, hemopyrrol being identical with phyto-
pyrrol. Unlike hemoglobin it contains no iron, but the
plant must have iron for its synthesis. Its close relationship
to hemoglobin is further established by the discovery of
the plant chromoproteins, phycoerythrin and phycocyan,
which are crystalline conjugated proteins like hemoglobin,
but they are found in plants and are closely related to their
chlorophyll. . . . It has recently been suggested that
the iron which is always present in the chloroplasts of plant
cells plays a very important part in the synthesis of the
formaldehyde as well as of the chlorophyll. There can be
no doubt that many colourless plant tissues, if exposed to
light and if they contain iron, are able to synthesize chloro-
phyll.” The italics are mine.

Halliburton gives the chemical formula of hemopyrrol
(dimethylethyl-pyrrol) as follows :

cH, C—C—CH,
cn kh
NH

What I am aiming at, however, is to find firm ground
upon which to build up the hypothesis that chlorophyll in
combination with oxygen is capable of generating force
to give out energy to the plant in the possible absence of
supply or in the event of insufficient supply from the earth
and it is for that reason I have italicised the words “ tron
which is always present in the chloroplasts of plant cells.”
Nor am I altogether convinced that chlorophyll cannot be
formed except in the presence of light, or rather, is it quite

ACORNS 61

certain that no light at all is present in the upper stratum
of the soil? For it is the plumule that needs it, the first
leaves that seek it and these are frequently green before
they emerge from the soil; so sometimes is the plumule.
We should, I think, be slow in accepting the dictum that
light, in the sense of an illuminating power, is alone respon-
sible for the formation of chlorophyll and look rather to
light-frequencies and the energy possibly accompanying
them to further explain the phenomenon. Can we say with
certainty that this energy, if it exists, is incapable of pene-
trating the soil? Or if the answer is “‘ No,” limit the depth
of such penetration ?

Next we will take the matter of the protection of the
young buds from light, or I should prefer to say, from light-
energy ; disregarding provisions against possible enemies.
Generally such protection is afforded by colour, varying
from pink to crimson and russet-brown, but in some plants,
such as the Oak, the colouring may include the whole of the
leaves of the seedling if grown in the open ground ; those
in the diffused light of the greenhouse showing clear chloro-
phyll only, though a more delicate part of the plumule may
be tinted. The buds of the Oak are protected by dry, brown
stipules.

The phenomenon is particularly noticeable in the case of
such ferns as the Maidenhair which have been forced. If
on a bright day in the early summer one of these is removed
from the greenhouse and placed in the open air in the full
glare of sunlight the younger fronds turn, or come up, red,
but later, when the fronds are stronger, this colouring gradu-
ally changes to the familiar green.

“In other cases,” Lord Avebury remarks, in Buds and
Stipules, ‘‘ buds are protected by gummy or resinous secre-
tions, as in the Horse Chestnut (Asculus), the Poplar (Popu-
lus), Hazel Nut (Corylus), Honeysuckle (Lonicera), Currant
(Ribes), Lilac (Syringa), Hornbeam (Carpinus), Elder
(Sambucus) and Alder (Alnus), in many herbaceous plants
(Viola, Helianthus, Salvia), and most conifers.

“The gum is often confined to the outer surface, the
interspaces between the leaves being filled by hairs,

62 GERMINATION

“The gum or resin is secreted by hairs, by glands, by
leaf-teeth, or by the general epidermis. The gum cells are
developed early, and are short-lived.

**, . . The secretion may either be a gum,
or a resin; or both may be present together. The resin,
according to Hanstein, is generally secreted in the interior
of the cells, and oozes through the cell wall, while the
mucus is generally the product of the epidermis. The
properties and functions of the two are no doubt different.
Some plants secrete both, as, for instance, the Horse
Chestnut.”

Now, assuming light-energy to be of an electrical, or
partly of an electrical character, as I think we must assume
if we believe that optics is a branch of electricity, it
would appear to be necessary to afford the young leaves
some measure of protection other than that of colour; to,
in fact, provide for their insulation from electrical energy of
too high an electromotive force.

When a nut, such as a Hazel Nut, or a seed, such as a
Horse Chestnut, is cut in section and exposed to the sun,
it throws out a secretion of a lipoid nature on the cut.
surfaces and also takes on a tinge of yellow or brown; not
only shielding the injury from actinic rays but regaining
in some degree the insulation which had been interfered with,
just as many trees exude a gum when the bark is pierced.
There is a purpose, surely, in this and it is not unreasonable
to suppose that the purpose has some connection with
electrical energy as a danger to young plant life.

As regards oxygen supply to the seedling before its first
leaves emerge from the soil, we can agree that it is present
to some extent in the soil and shall see later on how the
further supply is obtained. The other question will find
answer as we examine the seedling.

With the exception of those grown in the open ground
the seeds about to be described were potted in 4-inch pots
and kept in a cool greenhouse. Some were potted with the
apex pointing downwards, some with it directed upwards,
while others were laid horizontally in the soil.

ACORNS 63

The first to be examined was one of those potted hori-
zontally, after an interval of five months.

_ At the point where the
‘outgrowth issues it will be
seen that it is closely adherent
to the seed. I say closely,
because this feature is not
common to all _ seedlings.
The young first leaves were
bright with chlorophyll but mM
the plumule, where it appears ae H Wii
to be darker in the drawing, ONG
was reddish in colour.

\
. Fe.29 *
The radicle was covered d
with a tough skin which
stripped like a soft bark, and
the plumule was also covered with a thinner and more
delicate skin.

On the seed coat being removed the seed separated into
two halves.

ht ENS hr

-- Negative

64 GERMINATION

The radicle was 64-inches in length when straightened out
and carried very few root filaments, except at its extreme
end.

The two halves of the seed are attached to the upper part
of the radicle by bands, which, I believe, are supposed to
be the stalks, as it were, of the cotyledons, the latter
extending along the centre of each half to the limit of the
seed. Personally, I think they assist in conveying current
to the seedling before the root filaments are numerous
enough to supply it.

Comparison was made a few days later with an acorn
which had been planted—apex downwards—in the open
ground, in a South border, at the time the others were
potted. It exhibited some interesting features.

Llumule

fradicle

Branch roots

There were two branch roots, 2}-inches and 13-inches
respectively, below the collar: the radicle was 7-inches in
length and the plumule had struggled only }-inch towards
the surface. Embryo leaf buds were in evidence and perhaps
helped the seedling to derive some benefit from air in the
soil.

It was very noticeable that the overlapping of the collar
was closer and stronger than in the last example and I
concluded that a reason for this might be that the seed

ACORNS 65

being planted apex downwards, the plumule would need
to make greater effort to reach the light and so need greater
protection. Subsequent observation did not, however,
confirm this view ; although it did not negative it.

In the following week one of the horizontally potted seeds
showed, as one would expect, advanced development and a
more vigorous growth. There were more root filaments,
but no branch roots. Additional leaf buds were seen at
various points along the plumule, to which they were closely
adherent instead of, as in the Hazel, being borne on stalks.

A fourth seed—one potted with its apex directed upwards
—gave me an unpleasant surprise. So far as could be seen
the radicle and plumule had issued from different parts of
the seed and the collar was conspicuous by its absence.

I had been quite clear that the outgrowth was continuous,
and that anatomically, if not functionally, the stem was a
continuation of the root. And here was a specimen in which
the plumule emerged from one part of the seed and the
radicle from another. It was unbelievable.

Goung
Oak
seething

“An escape from this dilemma,” as Dr. Waller puts it,
would be to say that while the stem is generally considered
to be a continuation of the root at least one instance has
been known where they were anatomically distinct !

66

Fig. 33

GERMINATION

However, removal of the seed
coat explained the mystery. The
plumule—meeting perhaps with some
obstruction, such as a stone, in the
soil had curved inside the seed coat
and first descending had made a
complete volte face to the surface.

So that after all it differed in
no respect from its predecessors,
except that owing to the necessity
for the curve the growth of the
plumule was abnormal; its length
being proportionately much greater
than that of the radicle.

Seven days after inspection of the above I selected a plant,
the seed of which had been potted apex downwards and
which had put forth several additional leaves.

Upon stripping the seed coat
the two halves of the seed fell
apart and revealed nothing new
except that the bands or collar
had grown more into the seed
substance and that there seemed
a line of demarcation between
the top of the radicle and the
junction of the plumule with
the collar.

There were some additional
leaf buds and numerous root
filaments. The radicle was
7-inches in length, and single.

ACORNS 67

The following is a sketch :

fig. 55

After another and similar interval a plant was taken,

the seed of which had been potted
apex upwards. The plumule, includ-
ing the leaves, was 5-inches high, and
the radicle (extended) 104-inches in
length ; the latter, as may be seen,
had had to execute a curve to make

its way downwards.

68 GERMINATION

The seedling itself was perfectly healthy and, of course,
more advanced in growth. Dissected, the collar was found
to be green stained, presumably with chlorophyll, and
the seed substance partly decayed at its posterior part,
thus :

The next one had been
potted apex downwards. The
plumule was only 2-inches high
but carried five leaves ; while
the radicle when extended
was 6-inches in length and had
a branch root 4-inch below
the seed.

In this instance the plumule issued from the base of the
seed and at the point of its junction with the radicle was
brown in colour and was received into the white collar thus :

y

which is rather suggestive of a synapse. In that case,

ACORNS 69

the plumule having a protective membranous coating of
the sarcolemma variety and the radicle and seed being now
negatively charged, a positive charge would be communi-
cated to the plumule to stimulate upward growth; the
arrangement being, like the resinous secretion of leaf buds,
a temporary measure.

With the seed coat away and the seed opened up the
collar was found to have increased in size and thickness ;
otherwise it resembled Figure 31.

The plumule from }-inch above soil was as green as the
leaves but brown near its base.

And here, I think, one fact stands out prominently.
When the seed is planted or potted with the apex pointing
downwards the plumule is not compelled to curve upwards
to the light, but owing to the seed splitting is able to grow
upwards in a straight line and emerge at the base of the
seed. This facility of movement does not, however, seem
to extend to the radicle which, when the seed is planted
apex upwards cannot issue from the base but is forced to
emerge from the top and curve its way downwards.

When the seed is planted in a horizontal position the
manner of growth is illustrated by Figure 30.

Another note which should be taken is that although all
these seeds were potted at the same time and under exactly
the same conditions the size and vigour of the seedlings
presented considerable variation. The reason, as I found
by experiment, was that the embryo in them all had not
undergone uniform development before they fell from the

70 GERMINATION

tree ; very boisterous winds had prevailed shortly before
the seeds were picked and no doubt some of them were
immature.

Following the last seedling was one with a plumule 4-inches
above soil and 74-inches from the collar but, strangely enough
the radicle did not exceed 3-inches in length and bore just
nominal root filaments. The seedling was vigorous and in
all respects identical with Figure 37 except there was no
decay of the seed substance; nor, so far as I could judge,
no diminution in the size or firmness of the seed.

In the sketches hitherto made the two halves of the seed
have been forced apart. Normally the seed opens in this
way :-—

In succession came a larger seedling, with six leaves.
This was one of the horizontals. The plumule was 44-inches
above soil, and the radicle (single) 9-inches when straightened
out. The seed coat had only split sufficiently to let the
radicle squeeze through. Further examination disclosed
the fact that what I have called the collar had extended in
each half much farther into the seed substance and from
it a swelling had occupied nearly the whole of the seed as
far as the base.

ACORNS 71

Those two swellings are,
I suppose, the cotyledons.
Tf so, it is small wonder
they do not leave the seed
and we can understand how
it is that some embryos
occupy nearly the whole of
the interior of the seed.
The only thing that puzzles
me is Why there are said
to be leaves !

The seed was quite sound
and somewhat narrower than when potted but this was
probably due to the growth of the alleged cotyledons
raising the surface of each half about 1/16th-inch.

An interval of a fortnight elapsed before another examina-
tion was made, and then it was of a seed potted apex down-
wards. The seedling, although 94 months had intervened
was quite small; the plumule, although bearing seven
leaves, being only 2/34ths-inch in height from the base of
the seed, and the radicle (extended) less than 5-inches from
the apex. Deprived of the seed coat the general appearance
was almost identical with that of the last sketch, saving
only that the seed substance was rather shrivelled and
coloured red around the edges. That is to say what we
have called swellings but which appear to be cotyledons
were white, while the rest was red. The cotyledons, if they
are cotyledons, were still more swollen and the collar more
pronounced.

The seedling was quite healthy and particularly rich in
chlorophyll. What I am pondering is why any part of the
seed substance should be red, unless protection from short-
wave lengths had been called for. The superabundance of
chlorophyll is corroborative of this, but, on the other hand,
how can we suppose one pot to be more subject to light-
frequencies than another? Unless, indeed, the soil had
been disturbed and a path opened.

I had now only four pot-grown seedlings remaining and

72 GERMINATION

took them week by week before touching those which were
grown in the open ground.

The first of these was one potted apex upwards. The
plumule was 4-inches above top of seed and carried four
leaves, besides four young leaves. The radicle and plumule,
at their junction, took a decided curve.

The seed substance was not shrivelled like the last one
but proved to be black and almost totally decayed. One
half, however, showed that the collar instead of merging
into a protuberance or swelling (7.e., cotyledons) continued
flat throughout the seed. The seedling was quite healthy
and apparently required no further assistance from the
seed.

The next one had had precisely nine months’ growth.
There were five leaves, covering 4}-inches at the crown and
rising 5-inches above the seed. The radicle when extended
was 7-inches in length, was not single but threw out side
roots from §-inch below the seed, thus:

ACORNS 73

There was no discoloration of the seed substance and no
perceptible shrinkage ; the slightly narrowed shape of the
seed owing to the further growth of the cotyledons. The
following sketch will show the growth to which I refer.

It is desirable to mention that all the potted seeds were
negatively charged, because the soil in the pot took its charge
from the positive air so that the polarity of the plant was
reversed and I have said that plants grown under such
conditions are not grown naturally. In the greenhouse
they were, no doubt, cut off to some extent from vitalising
air, and allowance must be made for that, but the doors
and lights of the greenhouse were open when the weather
permitted and the pots were placed in a position where
they got ample light.

We may now compare those grown in the open ground
with the pot seedlings.

Open Ground Seed.

I dug up one that had been sown horizontally. The root
had descended too deeply to be got up in its entirety, so

74 GERMINATION

that I could not determine the length of the radicle, but the
seedling was unusually interesting from the fact that a
plumule and radicle had grown from each half of the seed,
while the seed itself had not suffered any diminution of size.

As will be seen from the drawings, each half of the seed
had subdivided itself into two; the radicle and plumule
being attached to a quarter instead of to half a seed, but
in exactly the same way that I have previously described.
The larger plumule bore nine leaves and the smaller, which
was red in colour, leaf buds only. Although, measured
from the upper surface of the seed, the first was only 4-inches
in height, it exhibited a distinctly hard, woody and vigorous
radicle and its seed substance was almost normal; that of
the second being darker in hue. The following sketch is
of the seedling before removal of the seed coat.

To all appearance the above drawing would seem to be
two seedlings growing from one seed but when the seed
coat was dissected away the seedlings—not being in any
way connected—fell apart, and were drawn,in their relative
positions.

ACORNS 75

The seedling on the left bore the nine leaves before
mentioned. There was the same shrinkage of the seed
substance, although not as much as the sketch suggests,
and it was dark in colour. The seed on the right was
normal in size and colour.

Here we have one of two things, 7.e., two plants from
one seed, or two seeds in one seed coat. Probably it was
what is known as a Phillipine.

Put together and then cut in transverse section the
seed appeared as below :—

MA| Ex
ELIE,

The bands or collar attached to each radicle and plumule
issued from 1 and 2, and 3 and 4 respectively

The next seedling dug up—it was one of the horizontals—
exhibited a single radicle and no fewer than six shoots,
four of which carried leaves. After the modest behaviour
of the seeds grown in the greenhouse this was a suggestion
of riotous growth, and I wondered whether favourable
position in a sunny South border where the soil was friable
could be responsible for such luxurious growth, or whether
seeds occasionally acted in that way.

G

76 GERMINATION

I have not been able to find another and quite similar
instance but daresay it is not particularly rare. Lord
Avebury (on Seedlings) says that the seed of Ardisia Japonica
presents the remarkable peculiarity of often containing
several embryos, sometimes as many as six. The radicle
in such a case points in various ways, and in germination
each embryo makes its exit at a different place.

But that is not the same thing. If there had been several
embryos in the acorn there would have been several radicles
as well as shoots and several pairs of cotyledons. And
as the latter occupy so much space in the seed, only
miniature seedlings could have appeared. Shoots on the
hypocotyl are met with now and again, as in the Linarva
Bipartita, but that again is not quite on all fours with the
specimen before us.

It was first sketched with the seed
coat intact.

It was not a case here of more than
one seed within the seed coat as when
the latter was taken off it was seen that —
the plumule and the shoots erected
themselves from and were - connected
to the collar in quite the usual manner.

Seen from the back the collar appeared
to be broader and thicker than in the
pot-grown seedlings and the radicle, both
in length, thickness and hardness ex-
celled that of any other plant yet
examined, showing that root development
was in keeping with upward growth.

ACORNS

Ira Ai 49
if ack View
‘ (fell size)

77

78 GERMINATION

I was much impressed by the fact that notwithstanding
the superabundant growth there was no diminution of the
seed substance.

Only one seedling now remained in the open ground and
this also possessed features of interest. It was from a
horizontally sown seed and was remarkable for vigour.
The radicle (7-inches long) consisted of one main and several
branch roots while the plumule rose 10-inches above the
seed and carried fourteen leaves, the upper six of which
were coloured russet brown. The age of the seedling was
94 months.

It was then drawn to show the
root development.

It may be thought that the seed
substance had shrivelled. This,
however, was largely due to the
fact that it was not drawn until
twenty-four hours after it had
been taken up and had lost
moisture by evaporation.

ACORNS 79

The Electrical Structure of the Radicle.

We have seen that the radicle and the plumule are covered
with a cuticle—that of the former being especially tough—
and I have little doubt that these are insulating processes,
similar to the sheaths of medullated nerves or the sarco-
lemma of voluntary muscular fibre.

Now the earth gives out negative current and we know
that the roots, stem and venation of every tree and plant
growing in the earth are negatively charged.

If the thick cuticle which covers the radicle provided
effective insulation from the earth the charge communicated
to the root would, of necessity, be an induced one and would
therefore be of positive sign. As that does not obtain the
charge must be direct, and there is no want of evidence
that it is so.

Careful examination will reveal the fact that some, if
not all of the lower root filaments are bare of this cuticle
at their tips, which are white instead of the brown of the
radicle itself. In the very young seedlings, before root
filaments are formed, the tip of the radicle itself is bare
and in that way current is picked up, or at all events it is
in that way that the circuit is completed.

When the skin is stripped from the plumule the latter
presents a smooth, even appearance but the radicle exhibits
fibres which connect electrically with the root filaments.
There is indeed a resemblance to |
the junction of animal nerve-fibres
with the sarcomeres of voluntary
muscle. Calling the cuticle the
sarcolemma, the root filaments pene-
trate it and join up with the root
fibres. The root filaments, in fact,
convey current through an insulating
process to certain conductors inside
the radicle.

The above sketch is of a portion of the plumule and radicle.

80 GERMINATION

The upper 25 per cent. is plumule and the lower 75 per cent.
radicle. Some of the fibres of the latter are seen, and on
the left is a root filament which has pierced the cuticle,
which, partly stripped, is pinned on either side of the radicle
and plumule.

To afford evidence of what I have said about the extremi-
ties of the root filaments being bare of cuticle to enable
them to pick up current from the earth I sketched a fairly
well developed root.

The parts marked X are bare of cuticle and the lower
end of the radicle itself was also bare for 2-inches.

Pot-Grown Seedlings (Continued).

I did not think there was much to be gained by further
observation of the pot-grown seedlings but as three were
still in the greenhouse, thought it as well not to waste them
and accordingly took one from its pot and washed it.

It was one of those potted horizontally. The plumule
was 6-inches above the seed and had put forth asecond crown
of leaves, making seven leaves in all. The radicle (extended)
was 114-inches in length, and forked; its bare end, together
with the tips of many of the filaments being very noticeable.

Just twelve months from the time of potting I examined
this seedling again. There was some little additional
upward growth and of course greater root-development.
The radicle at its junction with the plumule was }-inch thick
‘and its total length over 17-inches, with several branches.

ACORNS 81

The seed coat was entire
and it was sketched before
dissection.

From the lower drawing
it will be noticed that the
seed is discoloured but
only slightly diminished
in size and still firmly
adherent to the plant.
The Collar, or the stalks
of the cotyledons, by
which it is attached can
be seen.

A conclusion that one is entitled to come to from the
large root development and comparative cessation of upward

growth is, I think, that root
room and upward growth are
linked together. The roots, no
matter to what extent they
grow, cannot gather sufficient
nutriment, sufficient electrical
energy from the soil in| the
small pot to enable them to
supply the needs of the grow-
ing plant.

The Oak, as we learned long
ago, pushes its roots very deeply
into the ground and its branch
roots, with their filaments,
probably cover a not inconsider-
able area; pointing to the
necessity for a large supply of
current.

CHAPTER V.

HAZEL NUTS

GERMINATION AND THE SEEDLINGS.

AZEL Nuts have so many features in common with
Acorns that a detailed account of the seedlings
would seem to be unnecessary.
In one respect, however, this seed differs from the Acorn,
it does not split into two halves, unless under pressure.
The first sign of germination, 7.e., the early protrusion
of the radicle, presented, when the seed was cut in longitu-
dinal section, the following appearance.

Fig. ass

The dark part is the radicle, the oval nearly surrounding
it the collar, while more of the space within seems to be
filled by the cotyledons than was the case with the Acorn.

Here also the cotyledons never leave the seed.

The first seedling examined was after a period of seven
months, from the time of potting, had elapsed. The seed
had been potted in a horizontal position and the plant
had much the same aspect as that of a young oak of similar
development, except that the plumule was sturdier and
the radicle thinner and not quite so long. The leaves were
bright with chlorophyll but from a point immediately
below them and extending to within ?-inch of the seed
the plumule was red in colour and from that, I argue, of
delicate constitution. Further leaves were in course of
formation and the buds were borne on stalks, whereas in
the Acorn they sit closer to the stem.

HAZEL NUTS

The seedling was washed clear of soil and sketched.

There was merely a split in the
seed-coat to accommodate the collar
and it is worthy of observation that
this protrudes farther from the seed
than the collar of the Acorn; the
radicle and plumule being rather
more than 1/l6th-inch from the seed ;
those of the Acorn are always close

up.
Cut in section along the line of the

split in the seed coat it was seen that -

the collar was not adherent to both
halves—as in the Acorn—but emerged
whole from the apex of the seed.

83

The following is a sketch of the seedling, and seed cut

an section:

tion.

At the Meeting of The
British Association at
Bournemouth in September,
1919, I found occasion to
mention the want of uni-
formity in germination and
growth common to all seeds
and expressed the opinion
that it was due to inequality
in the matter of develop-
ment of the embryo at the
time of sowing; instancing
trials of Hazel Nuts which
although potted on the same
day varied
several months in germina-

long as

84 GERMINATION

It so happens that I sketched two of them and they
exhibited a marked difference.

Both the specimens were 7} sis old; respective
heights above soil, 3-inches and 8-inches.

Taken from the pots and washed, to ascertain the roob
development they appeared as below :

HAZEL NUTS 85

Both these seeds were potted under exactly similar
conditions and the pots placed side by side in front of one
of the windows in a cool greenhouse. They therefore
received plenty of air and of light—during the last two
months, of sunlight. Notwithstanding this there was a
total absence of discolouration of the green of the chlorophyll,
inclining one rather to the belief that the seedling of the
Hazel is of more vigorous constitution than the seedling
of the Oak.

In the plant on the left the plumule, owing probably to
some obstruction in the pot, had curved behind the seed
so that an allowance of about 3-inch in height should be
made.

Further examination of the smaller seedling disclosed the
fact that the seed as well as the seed coat had split and
after the latter had been taken off the seed was gently
opened out—from its base—and sketched.

A
The collar can be seen distinctly in this and the next
drawing and it will also be noticed that there is no apparent
shrinkage of the seed substance.
For purposes of comparison the larger seedling was
treated in the same way, but in this instance the seed had

86 GERMINATION

not split ; nor do the Hazel Nuts often do so as their forma-
tion is not quite the same as that of the Acorn.

Although all the seeds were potted on the same day two
of them were only now showing their first leaves above -
soil. One of these I had re-potted in a larger pot a week
before as it was desired to make a comparison between the
two in the matter of root development—given more room—
and upward growth.

One month later the seedling in the larger pot had put
out a second stem, 14-inches high and with four leaves. Both
plants were about the same height. This on the 16th
August.

On September 16th, I shifted both seedlings into larger
pots and examined the one with the second stem, noting
the following details :

Age: 11 months and 8 days.
Height of main stem: 54-inches.
Height of secondary stem: 24-inches.
Spread of leaves: 'T-inches.

Number of leaves: 10.

Number of buds: 9.

HAZEL NUTS 87

The root development was very profuse and the extremities
of the filaments were bare of cuticle. The seed had split
and it having been potted horizontally it was seen that
the upper half had diminished in size and had lost most
of its membrane, while the lower half was as fresh and as
large as when the seed was potted. The radicle had curled
over the seed before descending—owing, no doubt, to some
obstruction. It was then drawn.

The main stem (plumule) is on the left in the sketch,
and the upper half of the seed exhibits the swelling which
was so noticeable in the Acorn and which, I suppose, is
a cotyledon.

Further experiments might have been productive of
interest. Both with the Acorn and the Hazel Nut it has,
I think, been made quite clear that growth, as well as flow
of current, is along the line of least resistance. Something
or other, however, intervened and I was unable to observe
the further progress of these seedlings.

CHAPTER VI.

HORSE-CHESTNUTS

GERMINATION AND THE SEEDLINGS

E may now be supposed to have potted the “ Conker ”

described in Chapter II., under conditions favour-

able to germination. If, however, we had been able to

dissect it beforehand we should have noticed a knob-shaped
piece inside much like the end of a dumb-bell.

tno.

fig. 05

In this knob, so far as I could see, the embryo radicle
and plumule and the attachment of the cotyledons appeared
to be esconced. It is difficult to even guess at the shape
and presentment of the latter, as, with those of the Acorn,
the Hazel Nut and the Walnut which never leave the seed
or the shell they live out their life underground. It would
seem, however, that their shape is similar to that of the
seed and that they lie close to its sides for the reason that
at a certain stage of development the middle part invariably
falls out if the seed is cut in section.

The first seed was sown in a pot on the 8th of October
and showed its first leaves above soil on the 8th of April;
an interval of just six months.

It is a red letter day in the history of the seedling because
it for the first time commenced an independent existence
as a plant.

HORSE-CHESTNUTS 89

The following is a sketch of it:

The plumule near its junction with the radicle was red—
probably because the seed had been near the surface of
the soil and required to be protected from actinic rays—
while the upper part was bright with chlorophyll.

Note will be taken that what I called the collar of the
Acorn and Hazel Nut assumes here the form of a cup in
which the plumule sits. Later on it will be seen that this
is a continuation of the tough membrane covering the
radicle, connecting directly with the cotyledons within
the seed.

With growth, rupture of the seed coat is, of course,
inevitable, and the insulating processes, the fibroid layer
and the inner membrane, meeting with the same fate, the
Leyden jar formation is broken up. All parts of the plant
other than, possibly the plumule, and certainly the leaf
buds, are now negatively electrified and there can be little
doubt that the cotyledons have a useful function in storing
if not in collecting current before sufficient root filaments are
formed to pick it up in quantity. There is also the question
whether during the earlier days of the seedling there is not
a@ synaptic junction between the posterior part of the
plumule and the interior part of the radicle. Both are
covered by a tough membrane and if such a synapse existed
the plumule would be positively charged and therefore

90 GERMINATION

the leaf buds. After the first leaves had emerged above
soil and could take in the air charge the usefulness of such
a synapse would disappear and the plumule would be
functionally as well as anatomically continuous with the
root. It is not easy with very young seedlings to get
accurate galvanometric tests but when I have, as I believe,
got a reliable reading the plumule exhibited a positive
reaction, whereas in an older plant it is always negative.

It has been impressed upon me so frequently that the
seed contains nutriment for the sustenance of the seedling
that I have expected to find constant shrinkage of the
seed substance as growth proceeded. Very many experi-
ments have been made but I have not seen any evidence
of such shrinkage.

The seedling shown in the last drawing was washed free
of soil, cut in section and the plumule shortened.

The sketch is taken nearer the plant than the last but is
of the same seedling.

Growth had taken place from the knob and the connection
was from the sides and not from the centre of the seed as
in the case of the Acorn and Hazel Nut. x

I am giving the ages of these seedlings but the relative
progress made by them depends not so much on the factor
of time as upon the condition of the seed when sown. Some
seeds are more advanced, more mature than others, and
therefore make better headway.

HORSE-CHESTNUTS 91

On April 13th another having shown above soil it was
sketched first in the pot, as it was about to put forth its
second leaves :

The radicle emerged from the seed just above and on
the left of the circular lighter patch, whereas in the last
example it was on the right, but in a symmetrical position.
From its junction with the radicle the plumule to half its
height was pink in colour, merging in the upper part into
chlorophyll. The membrane, or skin, coating the radicle

H

92 GERMINATION

extended into the seed substance and seemed to provide
protection if not additional insulation to the plumule. Tested
galvanometrically, however, the only part distinctly positive
was the foliage, the rest being of negative sign; I am
adhering to the natural polarity.

Where the plumule issued from the seed it was tongue-
like and the collar continuous with the radicle, the former
being seated in a species of cup, the sides of which connected
with the root, thus:

...Aurnise

_..Aadrce
S72 70
and when cut in section:

...Farnu/e

_Cortinuons with radio
01.77
and further:

‘pee ~ - DOSNTIUE

---7EGaNVe

Fig 72

Notwithstanding the fact that speculative reasoning
very frequently leads nowhere there is great temptation to
indulge in it. The following is pure theory :

HORSE-CHESTNUTS 93

It may be that the purpose and function of the mem-
branous coatings of the radicle and plumule and the peculiar
junction of the two have some connection with electrical
supply. Before the rupture of the inner membrane of the
seed in open ground growth the seed substance is positively
electrified by induction. When by reason of the rupture
of the inner membrane the seed substance is placed in direct
contact with the soil it must become negatively electrified
and without any provision being made to conserve a
difference of polarity the whole seedling would be negatively
charged ; the stomata as yet not being able to take in
charge from the positive air; although the leaf buds might,
as a matter of possibility, obtain oxygen from the soil and
so establish a circuit. But it is not altogether improbable
that the membranes of the radicle and plumule interpose
as effective a resistance as did the inner membrane while
it was intact—until, at all events, the leaves could unfold
and take in air charge. In such case the electrical condition
would be for a time unchanged, but when the plumule
with its crown of leaves gained access to the air the inductive
process would no longer be necessary and the seed substance
would, so far as its electrical function is concerned, merely
serve to assist in collecting or in storing earth-energy.

In the first sketch of this series
only the first leaves have developed
and the radicle is destitute of root
filaments ; the two being, presumably,
balanced. When, however, the second
leaves are formed further root
development is required to keep pace
with upward growth and in order
to preserve electrical equilibrium.

The accompanying figure shows the
last example with the seed cut in
section :

94 GERMINATION

Half of the collar is hanging loose but the other half
can be seen issuing from the dumb-bell like knob to which
I have referred.

The next seedling was seven and a half months old,
its second leaves were well developed: height above soil,
ten inches; spread of leaves, fifteen inches. I sketched
it before removal from the pot ;

HORSE-CHESTNUTS 95

One can hardly judge from it
whether the seed had been drawn
upon for nutriment, but the next
drawing—which gives a good view
of the collar—does not suggest it.

There was no sign of shrinkage
that I could see. Nor does a
close examination of its internal
economy lend colour to botanical
opinion, though I do not pretend
to question it.

rans,

> a
The development exhibited in

Figures 76 and 77 is deserving of
attention. The collar is well de-
fined and springs from the seed
substance at a point just above
the round lighter disc, which point
identifies itself with the dumb-bell
like protuberance always to be seen
in this seed when it is cut in section.
Furthermore, we now see that while
the growth has been outward, an
inward change has taken place;
the wings of the collar extending
around the sides of the seed. In

the centre of the seed was a loose piece which is shown in
the accompanying Figure: but which, as it fell out upon
being handled, is probably not concerned with growth.
When it did so the seed appeared as follows:

96 GERMINATION

So that it would seem that the outgrowth was from the sides
of the seed only.

From the firmness and appearance of the seed and my
recollection of it when it was potted I am of opinion that
no portion of its substance had been used by the seedling
for food.

Although the Horse Chestnut tree has taken very kindly
to our climate and is common to the great majority of our
gardens it is only, I am told, some three centuries ago that
it was introduced into Europe. Apart from the erect
racemes of attractive red and white flowers which beautify
the suburbs of London, the timber is useful. The bark
contains an astringent principle which is sometimes used
in medicine and there is colouring matter in the outer
membrane of the seeds which is of some value for dyeing
purposes.

The seeds also contain a considerable quantity of starch,
an oil said to be a remarkable remedy for rheumatism, and
a saponaceous substance which, when reduced to powder,
may be used for washing. They are also liked as food by
horses, cattle and pigs.

CHAPTER VII.

SOIL AND WATER ELECTRICALLY CONSIDERED

Sorn

UITE apart from the chemical character of the soil—
O and therefore the question of suitable manures—its
permeability to water and oxygen and from soil bacteriology
we must, in my opinion pay equal attention to its electrical
conductivity.

I am indebted to Dr. Russell’s admirable work, Soil
Conditions and Plant Growth, for much _ interesting
information.

Pan Formation. ‘A pan is a layer of hard impermeable
rock that gradually forms at the usual water level below
the surface of the soil under certain conditions. Its effect
is to cut off the soil above from the material below and there-
fore to modify profoundly the movements of water and
air, leading often to swamp conditions. The effect on
vegetation becomes so marked that in agricultural practice
the pan has usually to be removed, often at considerable
trouble and expense. . . . Pans are best seen when
the sand is overlain by a deposit of peat. The sand is then
bleached to a depth of 5 to 60 cms. Suddenly there comes
a change: a coloured layer of solid rock occurs which may
vary in colour from yellow to black and in thickness from
10 to 60 cms. . . . This is the pan: underneath it lies
the sand proper. . . . But pans are by no means
confined to peat : they often occur in forests, on heaths and
on certain cultivated soils.” :

“No method of cultivating these soils has ever been
devised, and most of them still remain barren wastes, defying
all attempts at reclamation.” . . . ‘“‘ The bad effect of
a layer of impermeable material near the surface is shown
by the Loddington soil . . . typical of an area near

98 GERMINATION

Maidstone, much of which was waste land. Its sterility
was due to no fault in the soil, which is obviously of excellent
type, but to a thin layer of rock lying near the surface.
When this was removed a very good soil was obtained.
The Harting soil, on the Upper Greensand, in West Sussex ;
the rock comes close to the surface, restricting both the
root range of the plant and the water supply where it lies
horizontally, but proving much less harmful where it dips
at any considerable angle . . . The Dicker soil
is far from being hopeless, but it unfortunately lies on a
deep bed of stiff clay which keeps it wet in winter and
parched in summer. . . . Over-drainage is illustrated
by the Shopwyke soil . . . it is spoiled by lying on a
deep bed of gravel only nine inches or a foot below the
surface. . . . Consequently it dries out badly in summer
and does not repay much expenditure in the way of manures.”
Let us study these problems with a view to seeing how
far electrical conditions may enter into them, for if I have,
as I claim, discovered a fundamental truth, electricity must,
of necessity, be concerned in the matter. First we will
have a few brief facts for our guidance :

(1) Dry soil is non-conductive of electricity.
(2) Water is mainly required as an electrolyte.

(3) Other things being equal soil conductivity rises
and falls with rise and fall of temperature.

In the case of the pan first mentioned, swamp conditions
would, of course, involve drainage, but the effect of such a
formation would not only be to modify profoundly the
movements of water and air but also that of the earth current,

Now, while water is essential as an electrolyte it is not
an electrolyte of low resistance and it is to be feared that
vegetation would fare badly if soil conductivity depended
on moisture alone, for current in sufficient quantity is
required to be constantly supplied to the roots.

In much the same way that the path of lightning from
cloud to earth is governed by the distribution of electrolytes
in the air so the direction or directions taken by earth currents
must be subject to the distribution of electrolytes in the soil

SOIL AND WATER 99

and their quantity be in the inverse ratio to the resistance
of the path or paths. It follows, therefore, that if every
portion of the soil—or those depths which are reached by
the roots of plants—is to receive the same current supply
it must not only have exactly the same conductivity but
must not be shut off by a fault, or break of continuity, such
as those described by Dr. Russell.

We may be sure, quite sure, that in the absence of manure
or fertilisers, electrolytes are neither equally distributed
throughout the soil nor of uniform resistance, so that elec-
trification of the soil cannot be everywhere the same. When
a “fault ” of the nature we have been discussing occurs
the pocket, so to speak, of soil would, presumably, be cut
off from the earth supply, or alternatively receive a
diminished supply owing to the resistance of the rock, and
be mainly dependent upon the atmosphere for its charge.
This, with a dry upper stratum would, in the absence of
rain, be negligible. It would appear, therefore, to be
desirable to test soils both for E.M.F. and sign of current
—to determine the nature of the charge—and where there
is a deficiency to arrange for a constant supply at a voltage
not materially higher than that of the earth.

When the underlying rock is at a depth permitting of
root expansion a simple remedy might be to drive a metal
rod or tube through it to enable the earth current to pass.

The Dicker soil lies on a deep bed of stiff clay. It is
wet in winter, when cold renders the soil practically non-
conductive, and parched in summer when dryness has an
even worse effect ; while in the case of the Shopwyke soil
the conditions repeat themselves, dry soil prevailing during
the summer months.

From an electrical standpoint too much importance
cannot be attached to temperature, within certain limits,
in its relation to soil conditions. In warm damp weather
conductivity is at its maximum. Cold increases resistance
especially of liquid and semi-liquid conductors enormously,
and consequently lowers the quantity of current supply,
not only to the roots but in its circulation through the
vegetable organism,

100 GERMINATION

With the advent of late Autumn, plant growth, as a whole
is checked and there are very few plants which when tested.
galvanometrically at that season do not yield subnormal
deflections.

Were we discussing a problem affecting animal organisms
one could reasonably attribute the phenomena to a deficiency
of nerve energy. If we apply the same reasoning to plant
life we must, I think, assume that at such times the earth
is not giving out the same quantity of current—possibly
not receiving it—as it does during late Spring, Summer and
early Autumn. What is called “forcing” is, after all,
little more than a successful attempt to reproduce condi-
tions favourable to growth but although a rise of tempera-
ture acts as a stimulant in lowering the internal resistance
of the plant and of the electrolytes in the soil it has been
shown by Dr. Russell and others that such rise must be
kept within narrow limits, not only because protoplasm is
unable to do more than a certain amount of work but for
other reasons. Dr. Russell says: ‘“‘ A slight temperature
increase producing a marked increase of growth; above a
certain temperature (which varies somewhat with the ~
conditions the rate of growth falls off; at higher tempera-
tures the plant suffers, the various processes no longer
work harmoniously, the protoplasm loses efficiency till
finally the plant dies.

“For purposes of crop production the temperature range
is limited by certain secondary effects. If the temperature
is too low a purplish pigment appears on the leaf, and the
plant grows so very slowly that it is liable in its early stages
to succumb to insect pests . . . and in its later stages
to be cut down by Autumn frosts before it has had time
to ripen ” (low electro-vitality ; ‘‘if, on the other hand,
the temperature is too high, the plant becomes taller than
usual, less robust and, when much water is also supplied,
liable to all the fungoid pests that give so much trouble in
commercial greenhouses. Only over a comparatively re-
stricted range of temperature is it possible to obtain the
compact sturdy habit aimed at by the grower.”

SOIL AND WATER 101

That is a very striking endorsement of what I have said
about the effect of the sign and quantity of current. The
terms positive and negative are misnomers and only serve
a useful purpose in indicating the direction of energy and
movement. I have shown that an excess of current is
harmful to the plant and that an upward driving force, 7.e.,
positive to bottom and negative to top of soil produces
tall, anemic growth. Now positive to bottom and negative
to top of soil simply means that the current takes an upward
direction. If the soz/ and the plant in it were unduly stimu-
lated whether by heat, further assisted by water, reducing
resistance to a fraction of that which normally obtains,
or by high electrification equilibrium would be disturbed,
by the energy from below being made greater proportionately
than the energy from above, and there would be an upward
driving force as an inevitable consequence. The effect of
abnormal temperature appears to be fully recognised but
the views held in regard to certain other forms of stimuli
are inconsistent and are at variance with experimental
results. Moderate increases of temperature must not be
exceeded, but high tension currents are persistently employed
in electro-culture, even under the direction of men of such
undoubted scientific attainment as Sir Oliver Lodge. It
is very much on all fours with the application of high tension
currents to the human body, and just as empirical.

WATER

Dr. Russell tells us that ‘‘ the relationship between food
supply and water requirements is very interesting but not
easily explained,” and that ‘“‘ unfortunately no correlation
has been traced between water requirements and plant
structure.”

I am not concerned with the chemical side of the question
—that is in very able hands—but with water as an
electrolyte.

“The amount of water in the soil has a marked effect
on the character of the plant, the time of ripening, and
the composition of the grain. As the water supply increases,

102 GERMINATION

so the extent of the leaf surface increases ; while a diminished
water supply is met by a smaller leaf surface, admitting of
less transpiration.”

And also of a lower air intake.

“Thus on moist soils—clays and loams—the plants
usually have large wide leaves and grow to a considerable
size, whilst on the drier sands the vegetation is narrow
leaved and more stunted.”

Due, in some measure at least, to lowered current supply.

“A copious water supply leads to a more protracted
growth and to a retardation of the ripening process ; indeed,
in very wet districts grain crops are grown only with difficulty
if at all, because ripening may be so long delayed that frosts
supervene and damage the crops.”

Now copious water supply counterfeits electrical stimulus
by reducing soil resistance to the minimum permitted by
temperature and encourages the plants to continued growth.
I have mentioned elsewhere (p. 54) that under electrical
stimulus I had some Mustard Plants over four feet high,
but the seeds were few in number and very late. More
water is needed during the period of active growth than
during germination or ripening, but, as Dr. Russell observes,
‘much more work is required from the physiological side
before definite rules can be laid down.”

We know, however, that in countries such as Egypt and
India, where higher temperatures prevail some plants
require a great deal of water, the supply of which is some-
times a matter of considerable difficulty. Cotton needs,
I believe, about thirty inches, and Rice not less than eighteen.
If I can show that some part of this supply can be dispensed
with it will not be without a practical bearing upon horti-
culture and agriculture.

Some years ago I carried out a series of experiments with
ferrous sulphate as an electrolyte and gave an account of
one or two of them in Electro-Pathology and Studies in Electro-
Physiology. Since then other experiments have been made,
and as they confirmed the results previously obtained,
some mention of them may be useful at this juncture.

SOIL AND WATER 103

I wanted to get an idea of the quantity of water needed
for growth as compared with the quantity necessary to
give conductivity and capacity to the soil of a pot plant.
Dry soil has no capacity and is of the nature of a dielectric,
so that if it is to remain dry other means must be taken to
administer to the requirements of the plant.

I took, sifted and weighed a certain amount of soil. This
I divided into two equal portions and placed them in a gas
oven until every particle of moisture had been expelled.
One of these moieties was then saturated with a solution
of two per cent. of ferrous sulphate and replaced in the oven
until complete evaporation had again taken place; call
these soils A and B.

I then selected two roots of grass, of the same size and
species, and potted them, one in Soil A and the other in
soil B, containing the ferrous sulphate; electrifying the
latter by means of a dry cell of 1.5 volts. Both pots were
then placed in a cool greenhouse, in a good light and in a
position where no moisture could reach them. This on
August 3rd, 1918.

The following are extracts from my notebook :

** Each root was slightly moist. Weight of each, }-oz. when
washed clear of soil ; blades cut to 2-inches. Green-
house very dry. Light good, with ample sun.

* Avaust 12TH: Blades of both withering. Gave 1-oz. of
water to each, and propose to continue this daily.

“ Aueust 14TH: B showing signs of life, but not A.

* Aveust 24TH: B throwing out fresh shoots.

“ August 25TH: A is showing three small green blades ;
B has more than twenty. Stopping all water.

“ SEPTEMBER 7TH: A still survives but is withering ; B has
a good display with blades 42-inches high. Neither
have had any water since August 25th.

“SEPTEMBER 14TH: A seemingly dead ; B flourishing, with
blades 54-inches high, whereas those of A never
exceeded 2-inches.

“SEPTEMBER 19TH: B still vigorous but growth not
maintained.

104 GERMINATION

“‘OcroBEeR 10TH: B still vigorous but growth at a stand-
still, as might be expected.

**DecEMBER 17TH: Tallest blade of B, 53-inches; second,
4-inches. Vigour slightly fallen off but this may be
due to cold weather ; A shown no sign of life since
September 14th.”

Here, I submit, is evidence that given a suitable electro-
lyte in and same measure of electrification of the soil a plant
would probably thrive upon a mere fraction of the water
ordinarily required. We must, of course, make allowance
for evaporation from a pot and take into consideration the
limitation of root depth, but the conditions were the same
for both A and B.

In one respect the experiments were unsatisfactory. I
should have interposed a resistance in the circuit of B to
reduce the current strength nearly to that of the earth.
As it was B was over-stimulated.

CHAPTER VIII.

TESTING IN VACUO

DEVISED an apparatus some years ago, and made

brief mention of it in Electro-Pathology, for the purpose
of putting to the test certain theories I held of the origin
of currents exhibited by animal and vegetable skins, mucous
membranes and excised matter generally. Owing, however,
to causes into which I need not enter the apparatus was
not constructed until the year 1916. The following is a
photograph of it:

Fic. 79—APPARATUS FOR TESTING IN VACUO.

The air-pump was a double-acting one. The table shown
above the bedplate consisted of a disc of cork, 4}-inches
in diameter, dried in an oven, boiled in paraffin wax, and
affixed by means of Chatterton’s compound upon cork
supports which had been similarly treated, to the bedplate.
Holes 1/10th-inch in diameter were drilled in the latter, to
admit flexible wires, and made air-tight by the compound ;
to each of the wires where they terminated at the table a
steel needle was carefully soldered.

<.-.

106 GERMINATION

The connections are shown in Figure 80.

a & <¢

=

7 nagedle ClecDo
& qseiausls
3

To test in air, 7.e., with the bell jar removed, both switches
were put over to contacts a, a, while to “ earth ” the object
under examination it was only necessary to move both
switch levers to contacts b, 6. The shunt enabled the full
deflection to be calculated when it was thought desirable
to do so.

Fig. 80

There was, from time to time, a good deal of trouble with
this more or less makeshift apparatus. The pump did not
give a very effective vacuum unless it was kept going and the
mercury gauge did not register, so that, unfortunately, I am
not able to give the number of inches of vacuum.

It, however, yielded some extremely interesting results
but before describing them it will be as well to go into the
object with which the experiments were carried out, their
bearing upon electro-physiological research, and their
possible biological significance.

In my view, the currents observed from animal and
vegetable skins, from mucous membranes and excised
muscle and nerve, as well as from vegetables and fruits
taken from their natural environment, are due to air charge ;
that is to say, they are charged by an external source or
vehicle of energy which may be air of normal sign and
potential, or air with its sign and potential altered by energy
emanating from animal bodies.

Dr. Waller,* however, is of different opinion. To make
quite sure of that opinion I shall have to quote him at some
length :

*Signs of Life.

TESTING IN VACUO 107

“TI have been asked,” he said, ‘‘ why I chose to designate
the effects by the name of ‘blaze-currents’ rather than
‘positive polarisation currents,’ or ‘ post-anodic action
currents.’ I think you will readily understand the answer
to the negative parts of this question. Apart from the fact
that the name ‘ positive polarisation, . . . has been
adversely criticised by Hermann and Hering—shown by
them, indeed, to be a misnomer, inasmuch as the effects to
which it was applied are demonstrably due to post-anodic
action current—I think it is sufficient to refer to the equivocal
or antidrome blaze as forbidding the use of the term,
‘positive polarisation.” The use of the term ‘ post-anodic
action currents ’ you have just seen to be altogether un-
justified for these skin currents; in one case the current
is not post-anodic at all, and in the other it is post-anodic,
but of opposite electrical sign to that of a post-anodic state.
In muscle and in nerve a post-anodic spot is galvanometri-
cally negative ; in the skin it is galvanometrically positive.
So that both these cumbersome expressions are happily
inapplicable, and a new term is required. I have been led
to adopt the term ‘ blaze-current ’ and I think you may
now understand how it arose in the study of retinal effects,
and how it serves to clearly earmark a natural group of
phenomena of a very definite physiological meaning.

“A ‘ blaze-current ’ is literally and strictly a ‘ current of
action,’ but it is a particular kind of action current, and
requires a distinctive name. The known phenomenon to
which it bears most resemblance is the discharge of an
electrical organ, and we shall not infrequently find the
term ‘ discharge,’ a convenient indicative word. But as a
distinctive and specific name, the word ‘discharge’ is
insufficient, all the more so from the inconvenience that
would arise when we have to refer to the ‘ blaze-currents ”
aroused by the condenser discharge.

*‘T have had another reason in my mind that has helped
to make me use the expression, ‘ blaze-current.’ The great
mass of living things, whatever else they may give and take
from their surroundings, take oxygen and give carbonic
acid; they may live slowly or they may live quickly—

I

108 GERMINATION

sluggishly smoulder or suddenly blaze. A muscle at rest
is smouldering, a muscle in its contraction is blazing; the
consumption of carbohydrate and the production of CO?
never absolutely in abeyance, even in the most profound
state of rest, are sharply intensified when the living machine
puts forth its full power; and there is then a sudden burst
of heat, and an electrical discharge, by reason of an electro-
positive state of the active muscle giving birth to a current
of action which, in effect, you may without great stretch
of thought, regard as of the family of ‘ blaze-currents.’
So that in last resort we find that these striking electrical
effects in living matter that we had hardly considered electro-
motive at all—in the eyeball, in its crystalline Jens, in a
bean or pea or leaf or flower—are, after all, intense local
changes, significant of intense local action, that may be
imagined and characterised as a blaze amid the smouldering
state of living matter.

** There is a certain similarity between a ‘ blaze-current ’
and the discharge of an electrical organ—no very close and
detailed resemblance indeed, yet one that cannot be ignored.”

I propose to offer evidence to show that the currents mentioned -
by Dr. Waller have no such origin as that attributed to them,
that they are simply manifestations of air-charge and that the
so-called “‘ blaze-currents’’ are nothing more than exhibitions
of the electrostatic capacity of the objects or substances under
examination.

First of all, however, we might see what Professor Bose
has to say upon the subject, bearing in mind that as the
potential and sign of the air-charge are liable to variation
the response of capacity to that charge must also vary,
so that it is the exception rather than the rule to find two
sets of observers in agreement. Professor Bose says :*
**T allude to the so-called ‘ blaze-current ’ of Dr. Waller.
By this is meant an after-current in the same direction as
the exciting current. . . . The intensity of this
homodromous after-effect was thus dependent on the degree
of vitality of the tissue under experiment. Hermann and

*Compavative Electro-Physiology.

TESTING IN VACUO 109

Hering, however, afterwards showed that what Du Bois-
Reymond called ‘positive polarisation’ was in reality
excitatory reaction. These excitatory effects are known
to be caused by either the anode or the kathode; and I
have . . . demonstrated the fact that it is the differen-
tial excitability of a tissue which determines such uni-
directioned response. It is difficult, therefore, to see the
necessity of a new name for these phenomena. Dr. Waller
himself, however, offers the following explanation :

“The great mass of living things, whatever else they
may give and take from their surroundings, take oxygen
and give carbonic acid ; they may live slowly or they may
live quickly—sluggishly smoulder or suddenly blaze. A
muscle at rest is smouldering: a muscle in its contraction
is blazing ; the consumption of carbohydrate and the pro-
duction of CO’, never absolutely in abeyance, even in the
most profound state of rest, are sharply intensified when
the living machine puts forth its full power, and there is
then a sudden burst of heat, and an electrical discharge.”

This amounts to another way of saying that the cause
of the excitatory galvanometric effect is some explosive
dissimilatory change, a view which I have already shown
. . . to be quite untenable. I shall presently describe
experiments which will further show that galvanometric
responses, not to be distinguished from this, take place
when there is no possibility of any consumption of carbo-
hydrates or production of CO*.

The fact, however, that the excitatory after-effects des-
cribed disappear on the death of the tissue, has led Dr. Waller
to put forward the generalisation that this so-called “ blaze-
current” is the final distinction between living and non-
diving matter. . . . Now, while it is certainly true
that the domain of physiological phenomena has not yet
been so thoroughly explored as that of the physical, it is
mevertheless equally true that no one could venture to
claim that even physical phenomena had up to the present
time been exhaustively studied. It is, then, somewhat
-hazardous to declare that because a particular phenomenon
thas not been observed to occur in inorganic matter, it is

110 GERMINATION

by that fact demonstrated to be hyper-physical in its nature,
and must be relegated to the different and mystical category
of the exclusively vitalistic. The very foundation of such
a statement would be swept away from under it, the moment
it was shown that the same phenomenon followed, under
the same circumstances, in conditions which were admitted
to be purely physical.”

Professor Bose experimented with a lead strip and having
obtained responsive after-effects from it went on to say:
‘* Since we obtain similar electrical effects from the inorganic,
it is clear that excitability is the property, not of the organic
alone, but of all matter. . . . Itis therefore unnecessary
to call in the aid of such indeterminate factors as vitalism,
or assimilation and dissimilation.”

That is the kind of thing to which electro-physiology has
accustomed us. Two scientists disagree and a third differs
from both! In justice, however, to Professor Bose I must
endorse the opinion that the phenomenon is a purely physical
one.

The following experiments may serve to throw some
further light upon the matter :—

For the first experiments laurel leaves were chosen,
principally because they were sufficiently thick and tough
to promise durable contacts, and were connected thus :

FP reed le
ia)

2 5
GAvanomeer

(0 Golvaromefler
L reed /e
fia. 81
EXPERIMENT No. 1.—The Deflection (D) was first taken
in air, 7.€., with the bell jar removed. Galvanometer
resistance, 12,000°. :
D = Off Scale, negative.

The leaf was then switched to earth, the bell jar
replaced and the air exhausted; After ten minutes
D = 15 mm. negative.

Expectant of zero I was dissatisfied, regreased the
bell jar and substituted another leaf. |

TESTING IN VACUO Ill

EXxpPeRIMent No. 2: Mucu Smarter Lear.

D = (in air) 90 mm. negative. Earthed ten minutes
in vacuo.
D = (in vacuo) 15 mm. negative, but upon further

pumping fell to zero.

Experiment No. 3: R Needle in aerole, L Needle in stalk,
7.e., former connections reversed.

D = (in air) 90 mm. positive; steady. Ten minutes
earthed in vacuo, when
D = (in vacuo) zero.

During the ensuing ten minutes no deflection was
observed upon repeated disconnection and reconnection
with the galvanometer. Everything was then left
untouched until the next morning when D = Zero.

The bell jar was then taken off without touching
the electrodes and the leaf exposed to air in the dull
diffused light of the laboratory for one hour without any
change taking place. The leaf was then placed in the
open air—occasional sunshine—for half-an-hour, the
Needles replaced as before and a fresh observation made.

D = (in air) 70 mm., but fell in five minutes to zero.
It was then given three hours’ open-air exposure
when

D (immediate) = 150 mm., but fell in five minutes to

zero and thereafter gave no response.

ExprrimMent No. 4: AppiLE cut in section, and wiped to
prevent diffusion.
D = (in air) 190 mm. +.
After ten minutes earthed in vacuo, 500° shunt
D = (in vacuo) Zero.

Note: Went negative after a time, due to earth-
current.

EXPERIMENT No. 5.—LAUREL LEAF.
D = (in air) Off Scale.

After forty minutes earthed in vacuo
D = (in vacuo) Zero.

112 GERMINATION

EXPERIMENT No. 6: Lauren Leap.
D = (in air) 170 mm.
After one minute earthed in vacuo
D = (in vacuo) Zero.
Exprerment No.7: Lauren Lear.
D = (in air) 170 mm. +.
After eight minutes earthed in vacuo
D = (in vacuo) Zero. In three minutes went to
40 mm. negative.
EXPERIMENT No. 8: Hyprancea L&ar.
D = (in air) 165 mm.
After twenty minutes earthed in vacuo
D = (in vacuo) Zero.
Experiment No. 9: Hyprancea LzEarF.
D = (in air) 132 mm.
After fifteen minutes earthed in vacuo
D = (in vacuo) Zero.
Experiment No. 10: Onton. R Needle to root; L
Needle to foliage end.
D = (in air) 2750 mm. negative (Full deflection, ~
500 ohm shunt).
After twenty-five minutes earthed in vacuo
D = (in vacuo) Zero.

Upon the face of them these experiments appeared to be
quite conclusive and to prove, beyond any manner of doubt,
that all the deflections were due to air-charge. But it was
necessary to guard against the possibility of error, and
error might be introduced by |

1. Polarisation.
2. The Nature of the Contacts altering, and
3. Diffusion, with consequent neutralisation of charge.

There was also the question whether earthing in vacuo
produced a different effect from earthing in air. To deter-
mine these points further experiments were carried out,
with the following result :—

1. Polarisation of electrodes did not play any appre-
ciable part in the phenomena, but
2. Differences of Contact did, probably owing to one

TESTING IN VACUO 113

contact drying or partly drying up before the other
was similarly affected.

3. If the object under examination (or the electrodes
when they were in contact with it) were touched
with the bare fingers the natural charge was inter-
fered with, and for this reason

4, Dry rubber gloves should be worn throughout the
tests and the utmost care exercised in keeping the
gloves absolutely free from moisture.

5. If the above conditions are observed the object,
whatever it may be, under examination loses its
charge when earthed in vacuo much more quickly
than it does when earthed in air, and

6. Some things, such as an Onion or an Apple, will
not when earthed in air lose more than a fraction
of their charge in several weeks or even months.

I cannot too strongly emphasize the importance of
making firm contacts with the Needles and of avoiding the
“‘ shorting ”’ which would result from diffusion and lead to
false readings. Care should be taken in every instance in
recording the immediate or initial deflection that there is
not a quickly commencing fall as that is an indication either
of charge from some external source of energy other than
the air or of diffusion.

A very interesting experiment was with the same half
of the apple mentioned in Hxperiment No. 4. After the
deflection had remained subject to a weak and fluctuating
negative earth-current for some little time it was disconnected
and placed in the open air, in the sun, for three-quarters of
an hour, to see if it would recover.

The Needles had been cleaned and were replaced in the
same holes and switched to earth (in air) for forty-five
minutes.

The full initial deflection was 3080mm., and after the
forty-five minutes earthing

D = 3080 mm., showing that it had not lost even
one division of the Scale. It was then earthed for
forty-five minutes in vacuo, when

D = 275 mm., with a very faulty vacuum.

114 GERMINATION

It would not serve any useful purpose to give a detailed
account of all the tests, but the following tabulated state-
ment may be of interest :

Initial Resultant
SUBJECT. Deflection Deflection REMARKS.
in Air. in Vacuo.
mm. mm.
Laurel leaf -] 90 neg. 0
Sy jah te Site On DOS: 0
Re Bi ri nt sve oVeten,
ae » -| 105 pos. i
Cut Apple -j| 190 pos. 0)
At » -| 280 pos. 25 pos.| Different and
larger Apple.
Faulty
vacuum.
ue », -| 280 pos. Same half as
above.
Hydrangea leaf} 165 pos. 0
A ve 225 pos. sue
5 As 132 neg. 0
A A 135 pos.

The contacts were occasionally varied so as to change the
polarity and where no figures are given in the fourth or
fifth columns it may be taken to mean that the subject
was earthed in air or in vacuo, as shown.

There is not in the above, I submit, nor was there in any
other experiment, evidence of polarisation which need be
considered. The third and fourth laurel leaves and two
of the Hydrangea leaves exhibit some loss which might |
be attributed to polarisation were it not for the contradic-
tory testimony of the cut Apple. The loss was, I believe,
due to the changing character of one of the contacts but
even if it be called polarisation it has no material bearing
upon the experimental results, which go to show that the
phenomena of so-called currents from animal and vegetable
skin, etc., etc., have their origin in charge absorbed from
the surrounding air.

TESTING IN VACUO 115

As regards the occasional reversals of polarity observed
by Dr. Waller and other writers it is, I think, only necessary
to remark that the phenomenon is common enough when
there is electrostatic capacity in the circuit and should
sufficiently explain ‘‘ blaze-currents ” as being nothing more
than a manifestation of purely physical phenomena.

At the time these tests were taken I was using a garden
“earth.” This will explain the negative variation which
sometimes followed upon the fall to zero. And I should like
to make it clear that such fall does not imply more than
temporary exhaustion—suspended animation—; between
which and electrical death there is a wide difference. Life
in a seed or a plant—in an electro-physiological sense—is
dependent upon the retention of its electrostatic capacity
and this in turn depends upon the preservation of its internal
secretion. If it is quite dry the seed or the plant quickly
becomes moribund and soon dies if not supplied with
moisture. After the nucellus of the seed or the conducting
substance of the plant became fibroid, the first will not
germinate or the second recover.

FURTHER STUDIES IN
ELECTRO- PHYSIOLOGY

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS

A STUDY IN ELECTRO-PHYSIOLOGY

HE theory upon which the following thesis is based,

or, I should prefer to say, the fundamental truth

upon which it rests, is that the body functions are called

into operation by a vital fluid, which although not electricity

so closely resembles it as to be measurable by the instru-

ments of precision used for the determination of electrical

quantities and resistances and to be capable of expression
in terms of electrical units.

Briefly, I hold that nerve force is generated in the lungs,
with every inspiration, by the combination oxy-hemoglobin,
and that the electro-motive force is dependent upon there
being a normal quantity of iron in the blood and of oxygen
in the air.

It follows, logically, that the blood-stream being the
carrier of energy the brain must be the seat of highest
potential, while the nerves are conductors of that energy ;
their insulation being provided by the sheaths of medullated
and the lipoid coatings of non-medullated nerves.

It is also postulated that the conduction of the nervous
impulse is in accordance with the molecular theory of the
propagation of electricity, that the unipolar cells in connec-
tion with the sensory nerves are storage cells, the bipolar
cells condensers, and the multipolar cells multiple condensers.
Assume also that each synapse is an inductive process and
so transmitting impulse, that the sensory nerves are all
“closed,” and the motor and secretory paths ‘‘ open ”’
circuits and the study of physiological problems presents
fewer difficulties.

That nerve force is generated in the lungs many things
go to show. A few of them may be mentioned without
undue digression.

On the scale of a galvanometer of a sensibility of 4,000
millimetres per micro-ampere at 41 inches scale distance,

120 GERMINATION

the hand-to-hand deflection yielded by a person in normal
health is about 400 millimetres, at say, l0orlla.m. During
sleep, in the early hours of the morning, that deflection is
exactly halved. The oxygen intake of man during the
daytime is 400 cc. per minute; during sleep, 200 oc. per
minute.

A person suffering from a deficiency of iron in the blood
will not give more than 50 or 60 millimetres and if another
who is perfectly healthy be kept in a room until the air
becomes vitiated his deflection will fall appreciably, regain-
ing its initial record upon the readmission of oxygen. It
is just the same in plant life, and chlorosis in plants is
curable by adding ferrous sulphate to the soil.

With this preamble we will proceed to examine what
has been termed the ‘‘ mechanism ” of hearing.

SEMI-DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION THROUGH THE RIGHT EAR (Czermak).
G, External auditory meatus; YT, membrana tympani; o, fenestra
ovalis; y, fenestra rotunda; B, semi-circular Canal ; S, cochlea; V#, Scala
vestibuli; Pt, scala tympani.

Our first illustration is a semi-diagrammatic section
through the right ear, from Howell’s T'ext Book of Physiology,
and is numbered Figure 82.

In my view the external ear is the mouthpiece of the
telephone transmitter, the drum the diaphragm, and the
middle ear the microphone.

Contained in the apparatus of the inner ear are two fluids :
the perilymph and the endolymph. In the latter, or in
organs connected with it, the fibres of the auditory nerves
are embedded.

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS 121

These fluids are separated and, I believe, insulated from
each other, are partly carried in what one might almost
call coils, and, being in “ closed ”’ circuits, are in a condition
of constant neuro-electrification. They, in my opinion,
act as part of the human induction coil in assisting to convey
and regulate the quality of the tone, and in this way the
waves of sound impinging upon the drum of the external
ear, and amplified and carried by the middle ear, would
be received by the primary winding—the perilymph—
and actuate the secondary—the endolymph—whence they
would be transmitted in the form of neuro-electrical vibra-
tions or waves to the brain.

In comparing the auditory apparatus with a direct working
telephone it is unnecessary to say that the brain does not
reply to the messages it receives from the sensory system,
although it acts upon them. We do not, therefore, require
a receiver at the ear end. A possible arrangement that
obtains we shall see later on.

Transm (ther
3 A
b Fig ES
i
Fecerver Aecever

The next diagram (Figure 83) is of a pair of direct working
telephones in a “‘ closed ”’ circuit. It will be seen that the
current from the battery, b, flows through both transmitters
and receivers in series. When the transmitter at A is
spoken into it alters the total resistance in circuit, more or
less current flows through the transmitter and receivers
and, the effect upon the receiver being approximately
proportional to the variation thus produced by the trans-
mitter, the diaphragm of the former vibrates in unison
with that of the latter and in consequence reproduces the
speech-waves.

122 GERMINATION

In the case of the human telephone system, if I may call
it so, it is only required that A (ear) should be able to signal
to B (brain). The latter sends out messages or impulses
by the “ open ” circuits of the motor and secretory nerves
to actuate muscle and stimulate gland, so that we have
merely to delete the receiver in the sensory circuit at A
and suppose that at B to be muscular fibre or gland, to
make the analogy fairly complete. We shall, however,
have to modify our connections to meet the altered condition.

The third figure is, of course, purely speculative. It
divides that part of the brain with which we are concerned
into three areas, a, 6, and c.: a, we will call the sensory
receptive area, 7.e., that portion of the brain which receives
impulses from the sensory nerves ; 6, is an imaginary zone
charged directly by the blood-stream, and c, the motor
area, provided with apparatus for dispatching messages
by the motor and secretory paths; a species, in fact, of
departmental telegraph office.

All these areas, as well as the lung generating station, G,
and the muscular fibre, m, are to earth (air) through the
resistance of the medullary sheaths and lipoid coatings of
the nerves, and the skin—that of the scalp being particularly
high—so that we have a “ closed ” circuit from the trans-
mitter at A to area a at B, but an “ open ” one from area
c at B to the muscular fibre, m.

So far we have spoken of circuits, but it is necessary to
study the construction of the telephone itself, because in that
instrument, as well as in the ear, there is an arrangement

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS 123

for the reproduction of quality of tone as well as of pitch.

This consists of a small induction coil, placed below or
behind the diaphragm. In an open circuit a current passing
through the primary would induce a current in the secondary
winding. In aclosed circuit anything altering the resistance
of the primary circuit would react in a precisely similar
way upon the secondary. In this manner, or by means of
this device, not only is the note received at B of the same
pitch as that sounded at A, but the same quality of note, as
well as the very complex modification and superposition
of notes upon which articulate speech depends, is preserved.

A microphone is capable of a great variety of forms.
One of the earliest of them consisted of two or more pieces
of carbon, resting loosely against each other. Great resis-
tance is encountered at the loose contacts, and any vibration
in the instrument makes rapid alterations in that resistance,
and therefore equally rapid alterations in the total resistance
of the circuit.

The vibrations which set in motion the drum of the external
ear differ in no respect from those which excite the diaphragm
of the telephone. We have only to imagine the middle
ear responding to them as a microphone responds, the
perilymph to be the primary and the endolymph the
secondary winding of the induction coil to formulate what
would appear to be a very reasonable theory.

There is little value, however, in new ideas unless they
conform to natural laws and find some support in the
accepted work of others.

Now, we cannot say that the middle ear is a microphone,
in an electrical sense, nor show that alteration of resistance
is produced within it by sound waves. It is probably
mechanical in its action, and vibrations, we may suppose,
are transmitted mechanically as far as the fenestra ovalis,
where they are communicated to the perilymph. The peri-
lymph is a liquid, and liquids are incompressible. But it
is not only a liquid, it is a neuro-electrically charged liquid
and assuming it to be the primary winding of the induction
coil we should expect it to be the part to which current
or charge is applied, and to be of greater sectional area

EK

124 GERMINATION

than the endolymph, or secondary winding. As regards
the first the maximum supply of blood, and consequently of
energy, is directed to the base of the cochlea, where, as it
lies on the outside, the perilymph would be directly affected.
and charged. The second condition, 7.e., that of sectional
area is not quite as clearly borne out, except in the cochlea,
where the endolymph is restricted to the cochlear duct,
and so lies in a narrow canal between the underlying scala
tympani and the overlying scala vestubili, both of which
contain perilymph.

However, as we shall presently see, other means are
adopted to obtain the desired result.

The neuro-electrical potential of the perilymph and
endolymph must be the same, because it is the potential
of the blood. Moreover, exact equilibrium—the one thing
imperative in all natural processes—between them is main-
tained, as, I believe, by their ganglia. The perilymph is
contained in the bony labyrinth. Inside that, and of
approximately the same shape, is the membranous labyrinth,
filled with endolymph, so that in the cochlea the convolu-
tions of the induction coil are to some extent carried out, -
and we may reasonably suppose the membranous substance
to sufficiently insulate the weak natural current to render
induction possible.

There is, obviously no room in the cranium for an
induction coil of the familiar type, and owing to the absence
of many turns of fine wire the intensification of the
secondary circuit of such a coil is not obtained. All that we
can see clearly up to this point is that anything tending to
alter the resistance of the perilymph must of necessity tend
to alter, by induction, the resistance of the endolymph, and
if we were content to leave the matter there we need only
postulate that as the fibres of the auditory nerves connect
with the endolymph, the neuro-electrical waves set up by
differences in resistance would, of course, in a sensory
system, be conveyed to the brain.

But we should be overlooking the fact that intensification
is, in all probability, called for, and disregarding what is an

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS 125

essential and very important part of the human induction
coil—the organ of Corti.
Before, however, going into that let us inspect a vertical
* gection through the middle of the cochlea, taken from
Schiafer’s Essentials of Histology.

VERTICAL SECTION THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE HUMAN
CocHLEA. (After Schafer.)
a, Basilar membrane; b, Canal of the Cochlea; c, Scala Vestibuli; d,
Membrane of Reissner; e, Ganglia; f, Membrana Tectoria; g, Scala
Tympani.

It is quite evident that in the cochlea—the only part of
the labyrinth really spiral in form—the endolymph occupies
a much smaller space than the perilymph ; the latter filling
the scalz vestibuli and tympani, and the former the cochlear
duct only.

Stretching across the scala vestibuli at an angle, and
separating it from the cochlear duct, is a piece of connective
tissue of the pavement variety, called the Membrane of
Reissner. This tissue is non-conductive of the nervous
impulse, is, from an electro-physiological point of view,
dielectric in character and therefore capable, when between
two conducting bodies, of transmitting neuro-electricity by
induction.

We can now see that instead of the neuro-electrical waves
set up in the endolymph going direct to the brain, they pass
first to the organ of Corti, but before we proceed any further
it is desirable to consider what is called the Acoustic Nerve ;

126 GERMINATION

I say ‘‘ what is called,” because it is in reality two nerves,
and although both form part of the same apparatus only
one of them need be taken into account in connection with
quality of sound, and that—probably the true nerve of
hearing—is the cochlear nerve.

MEMBRANOUS LABYRINTH OF A FIVE MONTHS’ F@TUvus,

viewed from its postero-medial aspect. (Retzius.)
a, Cochlear nerve; 8, Nervus facialis; c, Vestibular nerve; d, Macula
acustica sacculi; e, macula acustica utriculi; f, Ampulia of superior
duct; g,Sinussuperior ; h, Ligamentum spirale ; 7, Membrana basilaris ;
7, Branches of cochlear nerve to organon spirale; k, Branch of cochlear
nerve to ampulla of posterior duct; /, ductus reuniens; m, Ductus
endolymphaticus; m, Sinus inferior; 0, Ampulla of posterior duct;
~, 9, ¥, Semi-circular canals,

Cunningham, in his Teat Book of Anatomy, says: “ The
Nervus Acusticus . . . enters the brain at the inferior
border of the pons. Its fibres spring from bipolar ganglionic
cells in the immediate neighbourhood of the labyrinth.
One group of these forms the spiral ganglion, the peripheral
branches of which are distributed to the organ of Corti in
the cochlea: another group constitutes the vestibular
ganglion which distributes fibres to the ampulle of the
semi-circular ducts and the utricle. Although the central
processes of the cells of these two ganglia accompany one
another and are known collectively as the Acoustic Nerve,
they really remain distinct throughout, in their mode of ter-
mination in the brain as well as in their peripheral
distribution.”

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS 127

I am inclined to the opinion that the vestibular nerve
serves for the conveyance of pitch, while the function of the
cochlear nerve is the regulation of quality, or, in other
words, the complex modification. and superposition of notes
upon which articulate speech depends.

Let us now revert to the organ of Corti.

First we have it in section from Schafer :

SECTION THROUGH THE ORGAN OF CORTI OF THE HUMAN
CocHLEA. (G. Retzius).
a, Limbus; 6, Membrana tectoria; c, Outer hair-cells; d, Inner hair-
cell; e, Nerve-fibres; f/, Inner rod; g, Blood-vessel; h, Basilar mem-
brane; 7, Outer rod; h, Cells of Deiters.

And next a vertical section of the first turn of the cochlea
from the same source.

VERTICAL SECTION OF THE FIRST TURN OF THE HUMAN
CocuHyEA. (G. Retzius.)
sv, Scala vestibuli; st, Scala tympani; dc, Canal or duct of the cochlea 5
sp.i, Spiral lamina; n, Nerve fibres; sty.v, Stria vascularis; R, Section
of Reissner’s membrane; /, Limbus lamine spiratis; mt, Membrana
tectoria; tC, Tunnelof Corti; bm, Basilar membrane; hi, he, Internal
and external hair-cells.

128 GERMINATION

These are chiefly interesting from the view they give
of the nerve fibres and of the membrana tectoria, a process
apparently protecting the hairs of the cells from injury.
It is also very noticeable how the whole structure is built
up to give strength and resist strain.

A more useful diagrammatic illustration, however, is
given by Howell, in his Text Book of Physiology.

2 4

DIAGRAMMATIC VIEW OF THE ORGAN OF CORTI.
(After Howell.)
A, Inner rods of Corti; B, Outer rods of Corti; C, Tunnel of Corti;
D, Basilar membrane; E, Single row of inner hair-cells; 6, 6’, 6”, Rows
of outer hair-cells; 7, 7’, Supporting Cells of Deiters; 1 to 5, Hair-cells.

Now, there are some 16,500 hair cells, similar to those
shown in the last illustrations and I am going to suggest
that they are condensers or Leyden jars, each of a slightly
different electrostatic capacity and that the rods of Corti,
together with the tunnel from which they rise, are designed,
partly at all events, to give strength and secure insulation ;
much in the same way that a careful electrical instrument
maker would mount the terminals of a standard condenser
upon ebonite supports.

We must also remember that all these cells are in a closed
circuit, in a liquid (the endolymph) and may reasonably
postulate that the hairs are their antennz, to enable them
to receive and deliver charge.

That being so and both perilymph and endolymph being,
in the absence of sound, in a condition of neuro-electrical
equilibrium it follows that anything causing an alteration

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS 129

in the total resistance of the circuit must also cause an
alteration in the current strength in the circuit, because
by Ohms’ law, C = £, where C = current, E, electro-
motive force and R, resistance.

In this case the electro-motive force does not vary,
momentarily, for it is maintained by the blood supply,
and therefore it is clearly the current that is variable with
resistance, and it follows that with that variation more or
less current must flow through the transmitter and receivers.

Let us assume that the 16,500 hair-cells, or Leyden jars,
sufficiently represent every possible variation of sound
intended to reach the human brain.

What would be the effect of rapid alterations of the total
resistance of the circuit upon the organ of Corti? The
hair-cells, or some of them, would discharge, or partly
discharge, through their antenne, recharge, and discharge
again in, perhaps fractions of asecond. And each discharge
would, by reason of the distribution of the hairs, be in the
form of waves, and those waves could only be communicated
to the fibres of the cochlear nerve, and, by way of that nerve,
to the receiving organ or organs of the brain.

Moreover, the fixed electrostatic capacity of the hair-cells
would tend to regulate and correct neuro-electrical vibra-
tion and so bring about a finer appreciation of sound
differences, while, as electricity concentrates upon points
and projections the hairs themselves might well serve to
bring about any required degree of intensification.

Taking cognisance of the labyrinth as a whole we see
that throughout its ramifications the perilymph must induc-
tively influence the endolymph, but two facts are very
noticeable, 7.e., (1) that in the only part which is really
spiral—the cochlea—the perilymph, or, as I suggest, the
primary winding, is greatly in excess of the endolymph, or
secondary winding as regards sectional area, while nerve-
current in maximum quantity is supplied to the inducting
body, the perilymph, as would obtain in electrical practice ;
and (2) that in the other part of the labyrinth—the utricle
and semi-circular canals—where the distribution of the
two fluids appears to be about even, a separate nerve receives

130 GERMINATION

and carries the induced neuro-electrical waves to a depart-
ment of the brain other than that served by the more
complex and important cochlear nerve.

DIAGRAMMATIC VIEW OF THE ORGAN OF HEARING.
(After Herrick.)
a, Ductus cochlearis; 6, Saccule; c, Ductus endolymphaticus; d,
Utricle; e¢, Semi-circular duct; f, Tympanic cavity, with chain of
ossicles; g, Eustachian tube; hk, Membrana tympani; j, Recessus
epitympanicus.

Hitherto I have regarded the Basilar membrane as being,
in the main, a pavement for the organ of Corti and an
environment of connective tissue for the cochlear nerve.
But another view is possible.

The whole structure is estimated to contain about 24,000
strings or fibres, varying gradually in length, and resembling
in general arrangement the wires of a piano. It is assumed
by those who uphold the resonance theory that the vibrations
of each string are communicated to a corresponding fibre
of the cochlear nerve, through which the stimulus is conveyed
to the brain as a nerve impulse.

I am not informed of the chemical nature of the strings
in question but if they are capable of transmitting impulses
it is clear, to my mind, that if their length varies their
resistance would also vary and in that case their function
as part of the transmitting apparatus can be understood.

In a mere thesis, such as this, the elaboration of minute
detail is, obviously, out of the question, and explanation
must, of necessity, be more or less elementary. We may,
however, if we revert to the third illustration, usefully

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS 131

consider, if only speculatively, the working of the system
in some other sensory circuits.

Suppose the transmitter at A to be the hand instead of
the ear, and the hand to become uncomfortably hot by
reason of its proximity to a fire. The heat waves alter
the total resistance of the circuit, a message is accordingly
transmitted to area a, of the brain, and area c, acts upon it
by ordering the voluntary muscles controlling the requisite
movement of the arm to withdraw the hand to a safer
position.

Again, we will imagine the transmitter at A to be the eye.
The differences of light which form an image or a picture
are not transmitted to the brain in exactly the same manner
as are sound or heat waves but they are, I am convinced,
the result of vibratory differences in resistance and, there-
fore, belong to the same category. A speck of dust is, we
will say, approaching the eye, the resistance of the circuit
is altered and area a, made aware of the fact. Orders are
at once passed on to area c, for the eyelid to close, and it
closes accordingly.

Broadly speaking, there are two classes of theories which
seek, but do not profess, to explain the working of the
auditory apparatus. Few people, I fancy, believe it to be
due to chemical reaction. Personally, I would as soon
accept the hypothesis that a Leyden jar could be charged
by a Seidlitz powder. Concensus of opinion seems to
attribute the so-called mechanism of hearing to mechanical
vibration but with all respect to the authorities it is not,
I submit, the function of any nerve to convey purely
mechanical impulses, although excised nerve may respond
to mechanical irritation. The two things, however, are
not the same.

At the risk of labouring the point I repeat that the vibra-
tions impinging upon the drum of the external ear are
mechanical, but as well imagine the line wire of the telephone
circuit to vibrate in unison with the diaphragm as to give
credence to the statement that the auditory nerves are
constantly in mechanical excitement.

132 GERMINATION

And now let us consider some “‘ faults ”’ which commonly
occur in the apparatus.

Conditions essential to the efficient working of the installa-
tion are that the drum of the external and the bones of the
middle ear are free to vibrate, that the penlymph and
endolymph are in normal quantity, that the organ of Corti
is uninjured and that the line wire—the cochlear nerve at
least—is adequately electrified.

Four “faults”? which should be capakle of repair are
liable to occur, 7.€. :

1. The drum of the external ear may be thickened,
or overlaid by inflamed tissue—due, for instance,
to rheumatoid arthritis—or by wax ;

2. The bones of the middle ear may be clogged by
catarrh or by inspissated mucus, so that they are
not free to vibrate ;

3. The Auditory nerves may be faulty, or

4. There may be a general deficiency of nerve-force,
resulting in deficient neuro-electrification of the
auditory nerves (purely nervous deafness).

In each case the sound waves do not reach the brain
unimpaired because :

1. They are partly or wholly stopped, or rendered
*“ woolly ” by the drum ;

2. If responded to by the drum they fail to set fully
in motion the clogged bones of the middle ear;

3. The faulty line wire fails to carry them fully, or at
all, to the brain, or,

4. The neuro-electrification of the line wire is too
feeble to transmit them without loss, if at all.

When one of these faults occurs the system should be
galvanometrically tested and the nature and locality of the
fault ascertained. There is no difficulty about it. It is
just an ordinary everyday test, except that battery power
is not employed.

If the drum of the external ear is thickened, or the passage
to it swollen by rheumatoid arthritis or by other causes
contributory to local pyrexia it will yield a rapid excursion

THE AUDITORY APPARATUS 133

of the light upon the Scale. So will the middle ear—tested
by placing one electrode upon the forehead and another
over the mastoid—if it is affected by catarrh; or it will
give a subnormal deflection when the bones are clogged
by urates. In much the same way the inner ear can be
made to disclose its degree of conductivity or neuro-elec-
trification by giving a measure of the nerve current in it
as compared with the hand to hand deflection of the patient
and a reading from the inner ear of a normally healthy
person.

With the repair of any of these faults the electrician has
no concern, because they happen to occur in the human
body. If, however, they are considered anew in the light
of the hypothesis I have advanced, remedial measures will
readily suggest themselves to those medical men who are
familiar with the construction and manipulation of electrical
apparatus.

CANCER

A PosstsLteE CLUE

HERE is, I think, convincing evidence that cell
division is an electrical rather than a chemical
phenomenon.

We may be sure that the nucleus of every cell loses its
insulation during division because it breaks up and with
the chromosomes forms a skein, and it is equally certain
that the chromosomes lose their insulation temporarily
for the reason that they split and in so doing double their
number.

In no other way can their positions, first in the equatorial
plane and, second, their attraction in two equal groups
by the centrosomes, be adequately explained.

We may be sure also that the exoplasm does not dis-
integrate or undergo material change in the course of cell
reproduction, for if for the briefest possible period of time
the absolute insulation of the cell failed the process of
mitotic division would automatically cease.

Logically then there must, after loss, be gain of insulation.
The life of the cell, its development towards renewed mitosis,
its power to receive and impart charge and the activation
of its chemical processes depend mainly upon the perfect
insulation of its various parts. I say ‘‘ mainly,” because
if we disregard intra-cellular action we must consider the
activating force as exterior to the cell and suppose the cell
itself to receive charge by induction, in accordance with the
theory of the propagation of electricity by molecular action.

CANCER 135

It is a condition necessary to conduction that the cell be
structurally perfect, for if its insulation is impaired it cannot
receive or impart charge ; it can only become electrified.

(abe VN SR sige ae ee a
> Mlor orSecrerory nerve

A/a CG fig. g!

Let us suppose cells 4, B, and C to be in a complete
and D in an incomplete condition and the charge or impulse
to be in the direction of the arrow, 7.e., efferent.

The charge received by cell C, from the cell B (to the
left) could only be diffused in the mass of D, and thence
be dissipated along the path of least resistance.

For it to be imparted to another cell (# to the right of
D) the latter must be structurally perfect. It may be
argued that with the exoplasm intact the cell would in any
case attain completion and survive, and upon that argument
much depends.

To ponder the matter upon the lines of the theory I am
about to advance it is necessary to assume that the pre-
cancerous condition is inflammatory in character, that
local insulation is broken down by a local rise of tempera-
ture or there is some injury which has produced an analogous
effect.

As an inevitable consequence there is—there must be—
an escape of nerve-current into wet tissue and an augmented
neuro-electrical stimulus from that point along the path
of least resistance to air and earth.

I am inclined to the belief that under such additional
stimulus cell division in the area affected is forced to such
an extent that a number of centrosomes are formed in certain
cells and multiple division brought about, in which no
process arrives at completion. Moreover, it is possible
and even probable that D, and other cells to the right of
it, would perish and with a similar fate overtaking other

136 GERMINATION

cells in the over-ionised path of least resistance an irregularly
shaped area of dead and rapidly proliferating cells is at
least conceivable.

My experiments in vegetable electro-physiology point
to this conclusion and in this connection we may recall
that in the cells taken from a cancer of the breast it was shown
by J. Arnold (Thoma’s Pathology, page 454) that mitotic
segmentation resulted in three segments and mitotic division
into six segments; there being three centrosomes in the
first and six in the second. With chromosomes always in
equal numbers one can readily imagine this taking place,
once the centrosomes are increased in number.

Several confirmatory facts present themselves. Cancer
is said to have been caused by X-rays and by radium.

Thoma states that it is due to toxins and instances
paraffin. But paraffin of a high flash point, such as
medicinal oil, is not a toxin. We saw, however, from experi-
ments at the Cancer Hospital that it facilitates the spread
of the disease, for the simple reason that the dead cancer-cell
is non-conductive of nerve-current, other cells in process
of decay are devitalised, and paraffin is a dielectric, adding
to their resistance. As a remedial agent paraffin could
only act upon the exoplasm ; the trouble is, however, within
and not without the exoplasm.

I will now give some account of the experiments which
led to the above theory.

If one electrifies the soil in a pot in which a flowering
plant is growing—using only a low power—cell division is
greatly stimulated, the leaves grow rapidly but the flowers
frequently fall off and berries and fruits in course of forma-
tion exhibit a similar tendency. >

To ascertain the effect of electrical stimulus upon root
vegetables I sowed some seed of the Long French Radish
in a 5-inch pot and electrified the soil by means of a dry
cell—positive to bottom, negative to top; sowing other,
control, seeds in the open ground. The former came up in

CANCER 137

three days and exhibited abnormal upward growth in the
direction of the current, the edible part being absent. Speci-
mens of both are shown in the following illustration :

a, Electrified. b, Control from open ground.

A second experiment was with roots of grass. Both were
identical as regards size and weight and the blades were
cut 2-inches above the soil. No. 1 was electrified by means
of a dry cell (positive to bottom, negative to top) and the
other (No. 2) grown under normal conditions, in a cool
greenhouse. The respective rates of growth were as follows :

Height of blades—

Aug. 4. Aug. 13. Aug. 17. Aug. 22. Sept. 14.
No. 1 2-ins. 6-ins. 8-ins. 10}-ins. 14-ins.
No. 2 2-ins. 23-ins. 3{-ins. 5-ins. 8-ins.

But there was this essential difference between the two.
The blades of No. 1 were of hair-like proportions whereas
those of No. 2 were vigorous and sturdy and far fewer in

138 GERMINATION

number. Upon removal from the pots the roots of No. 2
were seen to be dense (completely hiding the soil). Those
of No. 1 were fine white hairs, not covering five per cent.
of the soil area.

Here also we have some evidence of abnormal growth,
due to over-stimulation.

The effect of electrical stimulation upon Tomato plants
after the fruit had formed, was to cause the fruit to ripen
prematurely and even to burst.

I then took a Potato in process of germination with a
view to ascertaining the effect of electrical acceleration of
growth with a comparatively high electro-motive force
and connected it by means of two steel needles, with a
pair of Leclanche cells (3 volts).

Figgs

first perforating it to the depth of }-inch at a, in order to
get diffusion as the nearest approach to a pre-cancerous
condition of inflammation I could think of.

A week later the shoots became fibroid in character and
the whole tuber was seen to be shrinking.

Twenty days after the connection had been made I cut
the tuber in halves. The shoots were quite shrivelled
and fibroid and the tuber presented the following internal
appearance :

CANCER 139

potion o7¢¢ need le

fotiongf pos needle

a, Hard, dry formation yielding a low galvanometric deflection ;
b,b, Soft, wet, apparently putrescent area.

From the shoots I obtained deflections of 20 and 30mm..,
as compared with 2,000 or 3,000 from those of a healthy
potato. Deflections taken from b, 6, to a, varied from a
few millimetres to off scale, and here and there I obtained
reversals, showing that the tuber was not everywhere
electrically dead. For the most part, however, the sign
remained unchanged.

As a further experiment I selected a sound potato with
shoots from two eyes :

WY

“Vig GS
It was perforated or pricked at a, as before, but this time
I used a cell of 1.5 volts only. Perforation extended to
a depth of 3-inch, and the negative needle was afterwards
inserted to a depth of }-inch; positive needle to 3-inch.

L

140 GERMINATION

A week later the shoots became dark in colour and
unhealthy looking. Black fluid oozed from the positive
needle (electrolysis) and a wet patch surrounded the point
a; a hard lump forming about 0b.

In seventeen days the top shoots had become quite fibroid
and the side one fell off.

Measurements were taken showing the tuber to have
shrunk 15 em. each way. The following is an illustration
of it in section :

Fosihior of NEP. reed le

remains ofshools

Ser fluid area

ag

hole containing

"fy iy yy offensive fluiiA
UTR LD bord chy lomp
/

Nie Laslion Ff pas needle
hig go

In both these experiments electrification was continued
for twenty days; the first with 3 and the second with 1.5
volts.

Some three days after it had been cut a white mould
appeared upon the area marked “ semi-fluid ” in the illustra-
tion, and elsewhere there was a noticeable absence of the
starch-like secretion which a healthy potato throws out
upon cut surfaces. The following is a drawing of the same
half of the tuber ten days after cutting:

‘Fg 97

I next took a comparatively young tuber without any
shoots and gave it twenty days’ electrification with 2.5

CANCER 141

volts in the manner previously described ; desirous of seeing
if the age of the vegetable made any appreciable difference.

Twenty-four hours later the area around the negative
needle was discoloured by moisture over some ?-inch, and
a blackening patch was forming at the positive end.

After twenty days the tuber had lost 4-oz. in weight
(from 2-0z. to 14-oz.) and in section presented the following
appearance :

Position of neg needle

wnaffected area wnafected Crea

cauily

para. hard
Ca wy
hard lump cawty
fig
Le Fe, Posthon yo, (pas. needle

This differed from the others in that the morbid growth,
if I may call it so, was more spherical than ovoid in shape
while the discoloured part extended half way from bottom
to apex and thence was linked with the negative connection
by the band shown in the drawing.

In the darkened lower half also there were three cavities,
two of which may have been, but in all probability were
not, due to electrolysis, as perforation did not extend so far.
These cavities contained a somewhat offensive fluid, while
the upper part of the area partook of the semi-fluid character
referred to in the last experiment.

To avoid recapitulation I refer the reader to the Chapter

142 GERMINATION
upon “ Electrical Stimuli,” in which will be found other
experiments with potatoes ; the side growths being sugges-
tive, in my judgment, of multiple cell division.

In this series the final trial was with some seeds of the
Giant Rocca Onion, sown in a 5-inch pot and electrified ;
4 volts, positive to bottom and negative to top of soil.

When sown in the open ground these seeds would not send
a shoot above soil for at least two months. Under electrifi-
cation they appeared in nine days, grew 4-inches in nineteen
days and one pulled seventy days after sowing was 7-inches
in height with a root like that of the Radish but without
any sign of bulb. The other plants were rotting.

I am not going to suggest that in the foregoing experiments
there is substantial evidence that the morbid conditions
produced by electrification resemble in their character the
changes brought about in animal tissues by Cancer. To
the lay mind they seem to, and indeed may, be analogous ;
and I would point out two things, 7.e., (1) under the stimulus
of electricity of wrong sign, cell division is, as I believe, forced.
to the disadvantage of the plant, and (2) under comparatively
low electro-motive forces, hard, dry lumps are apt to form
at the part or parts where the electrolytic dissolution of
iron is most active ; the fluid formerly present in that area
not only being driven to the kathode but the protoplasm
killed. It does not call for an undue stretch of the imagina-
tion to conceive the semi-fluid areas to be dead cells—the
secondary deposits as it were—and the mere fact that the
hard lumps are dry goes to show, even without the con-
firmation of the galvanometer, that they are deficient in
electro-vitality.

I have only made brief mention of the work of J. Arnold
but it seems to lend support to the views I hold and to be,
in any case, worthy of close attention. I extract the follow-
ing from Thoma’s Pathology and Pathological Anatomy :
** When the cell and nucleus divide into more than two
portions, the mitotic processes are exactly similar, as was
shown by J. Arnold. Skein and star, equatorial plate and
achromatic spindle occur in forms which can be most easily
understood by reference to the following figure :

CANCER 143

c, Mitotic division into six segments. From a cancer of the breast.
(After J. Arnold.)

“These still carry out the idea of segmentation in so far
that the geometric regularity of the forms is preserved and
the divisions show geometric similarity. This similarity
is not completely absent even in those asymmetric forms
which are occasionally developed (Hansemann). These
may be of great importance in certain circumstances, if two
intrinsically different daughter cells are produced.

“In Fragmentation of the Nucleus (J. Arnold) the simple
geometric formation of the mitotic figures is altogether
absent. The whole ‘ habitus’ is different, but direct and
indirect fragmentation can still be differentiated. In
direct fragmentation the nucleus splits into numerous
subdivisions without any preliminary increase or rearrange-
ment of its chromatin. In indirect fragmentation there is,
on the other hand, an increase of the chromatin, which
assumes an irregular formation. It may be like a horse-
shoe, or ragged, or in the shape of a ring, a network, or
basket. Between the lobes and processes of the chromatic
figure are seen fine striated achromatic connecting lines.
During this process, in consequence of the irregular division
of the chromatin figures and the transformation of the
several parts into resting cell nuclei, large cells with many
nuclei, giant cells, are occasionally formed. An endogenous

144 GERMINATION

cell formation appears, in other cases, to be combined with
this peculiar nuclear division. It is as yet impossible, unfor-
tunately, to follow this nuclear fragmentation directly in
living tissue under the microscope; but it may be
stated in favour of the above explanation of nuclear
fragmentation that it mainly occurs in the cells of actively
growing tissue . . . and in rapidly growing tumours.”

May we not take it, in view of what we have seen of the
effect of over-stimulation upon vegetable cells, that “ actively
growing tissue ” and “rapidly growing tumours” suggest
over-ionisation ?

‘There is, lastly, a particular form of cell division to be
described which greatly differs from the foregoing varieties,
in that one portion of the divided cell is completely devoid
of any part of the nucleus. This discovery was first made
by Lavdowsky. I am in a position to confirm this, on the
strength of experiments made before Lavdowsky’s communi-
cations. I placed under the microscope some white blood
corpuscles from a frog, in aqueous humour taken from
the same animal, warmed them to 20-32°c., and stimulated
repeatedly with the induced electric current. By this means-
I observed, in different experiments, the process of division.”

There was ‘‘separation of a portion of the cell
protoplasm from cells which went through active ameeboid
movements on the cover glass. Lavdowsky calls this ‘ cell
division by force,’ and suggests that the two portions of the
cell move in different directions by means of their amceboid
power and thus tear the protoplasm apart.”

In Studies in Electro-Physiology I advanced the opinion
that amoeboid movement arises from electrical attraction
and repulsion in accordance with the experiments of Ampere.

“This is a plausible description of the process; but it
seemed to me that the process was rather a disintegration of
the cell.”” The italics are mine.

I will now quote from the source previously mentioned, an
account of an experiment made by Dr. Carrel with a small
piece of cancer tissue :

“‘The experimenter was now able to watch this
phenomenon taking place under his very eyes. The new

CANCER 145

cells would start precipitately from the main tissue; they
would become spherical in shape, then oval, and then oblong.
One end would shoot out, like a microscopic comet, and form
a tail; just as quickly, this tail would separate itself from
the main body, and perhaps ultimately give birth to new
cells of its own.”

That does not in the least resemble ordinary mitosis
but is very like Lavdowsky’s “cell division by force.”
Thoma givés an illustration of this:

Mth IF.
“Di stiantation 44 56
“G7, imurlotion 12h.

12.4 shinitlatior 12.3

2.8 Ho furthersindlation

<i 42.15
ce

fig 1007

FIGURE 100A.—A white blood corpuscle from the frog, in aqueous humour
on a warm cover glass. Changes observed during repeated
stimulation by electricity. The numbers at the side show the
time of day. (After Thoma.)

146 GERMINATION

The whole process occupied twenty-two minutes and it
will be noted that the effect continued twelve minutes after
stimulation had been discontinued.

I do not wish to advance even the shadow of a claim that
I have discovered the origin of cancer. It would indeed
be cruel to do so unless the fullest proof could be brought
forward in support. But I should be wanting in duty to
my kind if I withheld any fact that might upon further
enquiry be found to throw light upon the problem.

When the cause of any particular disease is unknown
and its pathology imperfectly understood it may seem
empirical to suggest even a possible method of treatment,
as treatment should be the logical outcome of pathological
knowledge and not of mere opinion. But we have from
repeated observation obtained certain results and one
definite fact, 2.e., the cancer cell in its devitalised condition
as non-conductive of nerve-current.

Now when a poultice is applied in relief of an inflammatory
affection it acts, from an electro-physiological point of view,
by lowering resistance and enlarging the area of the path
to air and earth, so that with diminished neuro-electrical -
pressure there is an amelioration of the unfavourable
symptoms.

In cancer, before it has broken down, one intelligent
measure would seem to be to restore conductivity to the
tissue and to open up a low resistance path to air and earth
by ionic medication. When the cancer is superficial, as in
the breast, I have witnessed its complete disappearance in
six weeks under the application of a pad of cotton wool
steeped in an ionic solution (1 mgm. to the litre) of Sodium
chloride. Recently an undoubted case of Carcinoma of
the breast which had resisted radium treatment, yielded
to ionic medication with Sodium chloride, followed _by
hypodermic injections of an ionic solution of permanganate
of potash, with complete recovery.

In this there is no proof, but some confirmation. In all
I have seen six of such cases and in all of them the remedy
proved successful. Theoretically metabolism cannot proceed
if there is and while there is a disturbance of neuro-electrical

CANCER 147

equilibrium and if, as I believe, there is, in cancer, over-
ionisation of cells in a certain area and from that area along
the line of least resistance to air and earth such a disturbance
would be present. Granting the pre-cancerous condition
to be inflammatory in character we are reminded that the
effect of electrical stimulus continues even after disconnec-
tion of current. An impetus is given to growth and that
growth may go on after the inflammation has ceased. If the
neuro-electrical pressure is sensibly lowered the tendency
would be in the direction of a restoration of the normal,
and that is the scientific basis underlying all treatment.

SLEEP; NARCOSIS
AND ALLIED PHENOMENA

rn’

HE conditions that favour sleep are stated by
Halliburton to be:
(1) A diminution of the impulses entering the central
nervous system by the afferent channels, and
(2) Fatigue, as this diminishes the readiness of the
central nervous system to respond to stimuli.

“‘ Of the parts of the central nervous system,” he adds,
“the spinal cord is always less deeply affected than the
brain, but even the brain is never entirely irresponsive.

. . Sensations of sound appear to be the last to dis-
appear as sleep comes on, and the first to be realised on
awakening.”

Some distinction must, I think, be drawn between the
afferent channels. Sensory nerves cannot be taken together
as a whole. The Optic as well as the Auditory nerves are
extensions of the brain and the latter should, in my view,
be as responsive to light as to sound.

The logical outcome of my own work upon the subject
is this :

Consciousness is in direct ratio to brain potential. Anything
that interferes with the supply of energy to the brain or with
the electrostatic capacity of the cells of the brain must diminish
consciousness. It is merely a quesiion of degree.

Howell is not far from the truth in attributing the sleepi-
ness which follows a heavy meal to the mechanical effect
of a dilatation of the abdominal vessels in producing a
diminished blood flow through the brain but he is, in my
opinion, wrong in believing the sleep that normally comes
on at the end of the day to be produced by cerebral anemia
following dilatation of the blood-vessels of the skin, although
that may be a contributory cause. The true explanation

SLEEP 149

is probably to be found in the diminished oxygen intake
and therefore diminished generation of neuro-electricity,
rather than in vaso-motor fatigue.

Halliburton says: “‘Sleep has been attributed by some
to changes in the blood supply of the brain, and ultimately
referred to fatigue of the vaso-motor centres. The exis-
tence of an effective vaso-motor mechanism in the cerebral
blood-vessels themselves is problematical ; so that if changes
occur in the cerebral blood pressure or rate of flow, they
are mainly secondary to those which are produced in other
parts of the body. Plethysmographic records from the
arm of a sleeping man show a diminution of its volume every
time he is disturbed, even though the disturbance may not
be sufficient to awaken him. This is interpreted as meaning
a diminution in the blood of the body, and a corresponding
increase in the blood flow through the brain. It is, however,
quite possible that the vascular condition is rather the
concomitant or consequence of sleep than its cause.”’

We may be quite clear upon one point; whether the
vascular condition is or is not a consequence of sleep, the
blood is the carrier of energy and increased blood-flow
must mean increased brain potential.

“Some of the theories,’ continues Halliburton, ‘“‘ to
account for sleep have been chemical. Thus certain
observers have considered that sleep is the result of the
action of chemical materials produced during waking hours,
which have a soporific effect upon the brain ; according to
this theory awakening from sleep, is due to the action of
certain other materials produced during rest, which have
the opposite effect.”

According to this theory also one would need, for these
chemical processes to continue an undeviating course
throughout life, to eat and drink exactly the same things
day by day!

“Obersteince has gone so far as to consider that the
soporific substances are acid in nature, and others regard
them as alkaloidal.”’

It is difficult to follow the reasoning here and I quite
agree that theories such as these rest upon the flimsiest

150 GERMINATION

foundations and have not been found to stand experimental
tests.

“Then there are what we may term histological theories
of sleep, and these are equally unsatisfactory. The introduc-
tion of the Golgi method opened a fresh field for investigators,
and several have sought to find by this method a condition
of the neurons produced by narcotics, such as opium and
chloroform, which is different from that which obtains in
the waking hours.

“‘Demoor and others found in animals in which deep
anesthesia has occurred, that the dendrites exhibit monili-
form swellings, that is, a series of minute thickenings or
varicosities. On the strength of this observation, what
we may call a biophysical theory of sleep has been formulated;
in the waking state, the neighbouring nerve units are in
contact with each other; transmission of nerve impulses
from neuron to neuron is then possible, and the result is
consciousness ; during sleep the dendrites are retracted in
an amoeboid manner; the neurons are therefore separated
and the result is unconsciousness.”

We might usefully ponder that theory were it not already.
discredited.

“Lugaro . . . takes the precisely contrary view.
He was not able to discover moniliform enlargements, and
his biophysical hypothesis is that the interlacing of dendrites
is much more intimate during sleep than during conscious-
ness. He therefore explains sleep by supposing that the
definite and limited relationships between neurons no
longer exists, but are lost and rendered ineffective by the
universality of the connecting paths.”

I may be dense but I fail to see in this hypothesis any
explanation of the phenomenon of sleep.

“A more satisfactory histological investigation of _the
effect of anesthetics on nerve-cells was carried out by
Hamilton Wright. . . . In extreme cases the cells look
as though they had undergone a degenerative change, and
after eight or nine hours’ anesthesia in dogs, even the nucleus
and nucleolus lose their affinity for basic dyes. The change,
however, is not a real degeneration, and passes off when the

SLEEP 151

drug disappears from the circulation. . . . The pseudo-
degenerative change produced by the chemical action of
the anesthetic no doubt interferes with the normal meta-
bolic activity of the cell-body, and this produces effects
upon the cell-branches.”

From an electro-physiological point of view the normal
metabolic activity of the cell-body would be interfered with
if the electrostatic capacity of the cell was interfered with
and we have the undoubted fact that anesthetics such as
chloroform and ether largely increase the resistance of the
nerve substance or alternatively, lower the electrostatic
capacity of cell-bodies.

“ The theory which has met with most favour in relation
to anesthetics, however, is that known as the Meyer-Overton
hypothesis; this theory, which has received abundant
confirmation by numerous observers, points out that the
cells are easily permeable to the volatile anzsthetics owing
to the presence of fat and lipoid material in their plasmatic
membrane. It can hardly now be doubted that the solubility
of the volatile anesthetics in the lipoids of the membrane
(or what comes to the same thing, the solubility of the
lipoids in the anesthetic) is an important factor in anzs-
thesia; the anzsthetic thus enters the cell easily, and
throws the lipoid constituents of the protoplasm ,
out of gear, the net result being a lessening of the oxidatine
changes which are essential in active vital processes.”

In other words lessening of intra-cellular neuro-electrical
generation and transmission.

“But,” as Halliburton remarks, “the artificial sleep
of a deeply-narcotised animal is no criterion of what occurs
during normal sleep. The sleep of anesthesia is a patho-
logical condition due to the action of a poison. The drug
reduces the chemico-vital activities of the cells, and is,
in a sense, dependent on an increasing condition of exhaus-
tion, which may culminate in death. Natural sleep, on the
other hand, is the normal manifestation of one stage in the
rhythmical activity of nerve-cells, and though it may be
preceded by fatigue or exhaustion, it is accompanied by
repair, the constructive side of metabolic activity. This

152 GERMINATION

is true for many other organs in addition to the central
nervous system; sleep is a time of repose for them also,
but the amount of rest varies; the voluntary muscles,
except those concerned in breathing, will rest most, but the
heart continues to beat, the urine is still being secreted,
the processes of digestion go on, so that for such organs
activity is only diminished.”

All this is in perfect harmony with the theory I have
advanced. If, as I claim, body functions are called in
operation by neuro-electricity generated in the lungs by the
combination oxy-hemoglobin it follows that the blood is
the carrier of energy, that by reason of its greater blood
supply the brain is the seat of highest potential and that
its cells possess electrostatic capacity, or they could not send
out impulses.

Now, the oxygen intake of man during the daytime is
400 cc. per minute (negative oxygen) ; the positive substance,
the iron, is partly consumed in the process of generation.
At night the oxygen intake is exactly halved so that genera-
tion of neuro-electricity is also halved and the brain cells
are not charged to the same potential. Body processes
go on because there is not a cessation but only a diminution
of energy—supply. Rest is, of course, imperative. Fatigue
always interferes with the generation of nerve force; and
mental fatigue to such an extent that if the normal hand
to hand deflection of a healthy man is 400 mm. upon the
scale of the galvanometer at 10 a.m., it may fall to 20 mm.
after a long and anxious day’s work.

As regards the heart, I have explained elsewhere that if
generation is halved so also is inhibition.

Sleep is, of course, as Halliburton says, “ the period of
anabolism, repair and growth.”

There are two conditions to which my attention has been
specially directed. Those are (1) somnolency after a heavy
meal, and (2) the effect of stimulants, with especial reference
to alcohol.

A full measure of consciousness, of mental activity is, in
my view, dependent upon the maintenance of brain potential
at its maximum.

SLEEP 153

The quantity of nerve-current generated by the act of
breathing is only sufficient for the requirements of the body
from moment to moment. If the expenditure of energy
called for to digest a heavy meal exceeds the quantity
normally assigned to the digestive apparatus reserves must
be drawn upon and the brain potential lowered.

In the same way, I believe that the feeling of exhilaration
produced by stimulants generally, but particularly by
intoxicants, is due to an effort on the part of the nervous
system to throw them off as toxins. The effect of brandy,
for example, as shown by the hand to hand deflection is
first to exhibit an increase of energy and later, an hour or
so afterwards, a mischievous reaction.

It suggests to my mind poking up a fire without putting
more coal upon it. There is a temporary blaze, but the fire
soon dies down to a lower level than it would have done
if left alone.

In conclusion I may usefully add a few notes made upon
the young sleeping with the old.

Children generate more nerve-current than adults because
they not only have to live but to grow, whereas generation
begins to fall off with approaching old age.

To take actual figures which obtain. A girl of ten or
twelve years of age would give a hand to hand deflection
of about 500 or 600 mm., and a woman of 70 about 80 to
100 mm. Let us call them 600 and 100 respectively and
to take an extreme, but not at all an unlikely, case suppose
the girl to be positive and the woman negative.

At night, during sleep, those deflections—the measures
of nerve-force or energy—would be halved, so that the
figures would become 300 and 50 respectively, and as the
50 negative must be deducted from the 300 positive and
neuro-electricities would find a common level as assuredly
as would water, there would be a sum total of 250 mm.
to be divided between the two.

As a result the vitality of the girl would be represented
by 125 mm. instead of 300, and it is difficult to see how
this could be otherwise than harmful to her, although the
woman would benefit.

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES
ELECTRICALLY CONSIDERED

M

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES
ELECTRICALLY CONSIDERED

ENERALLY speaking, those parts of vegetables which
yield a negative galvanometric reaction are unsuited
to human consumption, but it does not necessarily follow
that because those negative parts are fibrous or inedible, or
that poisons are, as a rule, present in excess in the roots,
stem and venation of plants, all are equally unsuitable for
food, or are to be avoided on account of their toxins. Poisons
in suitable doses enter into nineteen out of every twenty
prescriptions written, and in vegetables their proportions
are so adjusted by the Great Physician as to be harmless in
the quantities we ordinarily assimilate. Other vegetable
substances, such as Rhubarb leaves—and in this case the
poison is principally contained in the negative venation—
give warning of the dangerous character of their chemical
secretion by setting up acute pain when they are eaten,
and it is quite within the bounds of possibility that much
of our knowledge of vegetable poisons has been derived
from the painful experience of venturesome or foolish persons.
With this preamble we may proceed to the consideration
of some of the vegetables which enter largely into our diet,
commencing with examples of that interesting family, the
Cabbage tribe !

It is well to premise, however, that although plants are
mainly dependent upon the earth for their electrification
they are not entirely so. Nature very seldom, if ever, relies
upon the constant, unintermittent maintenance of any single
condition when life depends upon it, and it is, for that and
other reasons, probable that electrical generation goes on
in the plant itself. Most, if not all plants contain iron and
all of them inspire oxygen.

158 GERMINATION

During periods of drought the root supply of current may,
conceivably, be cut off by non-conducting dry soil, and if
that current is necessary to the well-being of the plant it
would perish had it not some other source of supply ; whereas
so long as its protoplasm remained in a fluid or semi-fluid
condition it would, with some measure of independent
generation, be better fitted to endure hardship. The outer
dark green leaves of the Cabbage contain a comparatively
large quantity of iron (17 mgms. per 100 gms. of substance)
and those leaves—standing out from the more closely folded
leaves of the heart of the plant—have the largest oxygen
intake.

I propose to give three examples of the Cabbage tribe,
z.e.. a Summer Cabbage, a Brussels Sprout and a Savoy.
There are many other plants, such as the Lettuce, etc.,
which it is unnecessary to mention because they are, in their
electrical structure, almost identical with the Cabbage.

400.101
SECTION OF CABBAGE.
Figure 101 depicts what is probably the most succulent
and digestible member of the whole family in that the
positive portion—the fleshy part of the leaves—largely
exceeds in bulk that of the negative venation. It is, in fact,
in that respect, an exaggerated Brussels Sprout, which
everyone knows is one of the most tender inhabitants of
the kitchen garden. Figure 102 will enable us to compare
them.

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES 159

SECTION OF BRUSSELS SPROUT.

I have said that the outer leaves contain a maximum
quantity of iron and have the largest oxygen intake. My
readers will also observe that they have also the largest
veins and therefore carry or are able to carry a considerable
quantity of current.

In both the drawings the negative stalk shows up
prominently but this is generally excised when the cabbage
is prepared for the pot, while that of the Brussels Sprout
is at least curtailed. We are led by instinct to reject, or
at all events to partly remove, the negative parts of vege-
tables and fruits. The root of the Cabbage and the coarser
veins are fibrous and are, or should be, cut away prior to
cooking.

In strong contrast to the others is the Savoy :

SECTION OF SAVOY.

In this the negative venation is in preponderance and as

160 GERMINATION

a consequence the Savoy usually boils hard and has neither
the delicacy nor flavour of the others.

Somewhat akin—and yet not—is our favourite, the
Cauliflower :

Sate te uy fig (04

SECTION OF CAULIFLOWER.

(Some outer leaves removed.)
Although it is only partly and very faintly shown in the
drawing there are in the vegetable itself clear lines of
demarcation between the negative and positive systems.
The stalk and main veins are negative only as regards the
central white portions. The outer layers contain chlorophyll.
The so-called leaves—or what may more appropriately
be termed the heads—of the cauliflower, are positive, and
in order that they may receive charge the inner leaves fold
closely over them. These leaves in all probability have
their supply from the principal generators—the iron-
containing green outer leaves—and are therefore not entirely

dependent upon air as the vehicle of positive charge.

A section through the “ heads ” is not without interest :

SECTION OF HEAD OF CAULIFLOWER.

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES ~ 161

We have now another familiar object in the Scarlet
Runner Bean.

In this the seeds are connected in series-parallel by means
of insulated contact-pieces, the membrane covering which
appears to be continuous with the seed capsule :

SCARLET RUNNER.

a, a, Placental growth; b, Ventral suture; c, c, Subsidiary leads
from Stalk.

In the above figure the negative (earth) lead splits at
the apex of the stalk and is carried along the ventral suture
in two parts (as in the Pea), the seeds being arranged alter-
nately upon the two circuits. The siliqua itself is porous
and with the exception of the stringy negative fibres, or
leads, is of positive sign. It should, therefore, be fit for food.

At the end of the stalk, where it joins the siliqua, there is
a fibrous point which seems to shut off the front seam from
the leads along the ventral suture. The ovary is divided
into two by a placental growth, a, a.

The two succeeding sketches are of the Vegetable Marrow
and Cucumber in transverse section and call for little or
no explanation. The central part is negative, that sur-
rounding it positive, and the rind merely a high resistance
covering to conserve energy. The inner circle in each case

162 GERMINATION

connects with the stalk ; the positive flesh taking its charge,
at the flower end, from the air.

1G. 108
VEGETABLE MARROW. CUCUMBER.

The Loofah and the Gourd are vegetable but certainly
not familiar to the cook. My reason for introducing them
is that they present a very remarkable contrast to the
Vegetable Marrow and the Cucumber; nearly the whole
of their substance being negative and either poisonous or
fibroid or both.

weg fermunal
if
LES
Ne anf Soman Weg.
gr TE a ij
fos. S572) / iN
Fan 24)
Meo; FSS | (Zea UL Neg.
Ans te =) Wee
RON
EAH NST Aas.
aa Per Y
Figs0g Pees. textniieed

SECTION OF GOURD.

The Secretion is only slightly acid and instead of staining
steel has a cleansing effect upon it. The positive (flower) end
connects with the central vertical line as far as the plug at the
posterior part of the stalk in the Figure. All the rest, so far as T
could determine, is negative. The stalk was ridged and appeared to
carry several conductors communicating with the corrugations of
the stalk.

The Loofah is just like a Cucumber filled with fibrous
connective tissue.

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES 163

_ Amongst root vegetables the Turnip and the Swede are
valuable foods by reason of the great bulk of their positive
flesh, but, unfortunately, their jacket or outer coating is
not of sufficiently high resistance to conserve their energy
and therefore the Turnip—to a much greater extent than
the Swede or Mangel Wurzel—becomes sponge-like and
tough soon after it is removed from the earth—its source
of electrification. The following figure will serve to illus-
trate its electrical structure :

y Lf)

Uy

Ly ny a

wit Mi vy HT h hae ! Pe
illite, | ag

: eee a uJ Neg

AA egertue ferminal

,

Another beautiful example of the work of the Great
Electrician is the Tomato :

Weg. terminal

164 GERMINATION

The Maltese Cross in the sectional plan is very remark-
able and is especially interesting as this vegetable comes to
us from the Hast.

Next in order we will take that wonderful tuber, the
Potato.

Before describing it in electrical detail I will quote an
account of it which appeared in The Catering World of May,
1917.

“The Potato, being a stem, it is, like the latter, provided
with a ring of vascular tissue. All along it, just beneath
the skin, is a cylindrical supply of slender pipes. The netting
shown in Figure 112 consists of hollow pipes or fibres grouped
together.

When the plant is growing it is along these tubes that
the sap is conveyed to feed the potato, which is filled with
food intended primarily to nourish the buds, 2.e., the eyes,
when they grow into new plants. Air also travels along
these tubes.” .

As one of our American cousins would say, that descrip-
tion leaves me cold! I should like to be able to follow
those tubes in their ramifications and see precisely with
what parts of the tuber they connect. Perhaps my own
drawing may throw some light upon the subject :

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES 165

é fas. lerminat d

eee, Rn
as it exhibits the Potato in its electrical aspect.

The Plant receives its supply of current direct from the
earth, but is open to doubt whether such is the case with
the tubers to which it gives birth. They are connected to
the parent plant by a filament, or filaments—not altogether
unlike the umbilical cord and nerve of the human—through
which, or by means of which, they are energised. In the
specimen illustrated I can trace only two eyes to which such
filaments might have been attached (marked a, and B).
They are negative terminals communicating with the outer
negative system, while c, d, and e, are positive terminals
of the lines f/, g, and h. It is only where these slightly
darker lines reach the jacket that we find a live or prolific
eye. The unprolific eyes, so-called, are those by which the
tuber is attached by a filament to the parent plant.

In all probability the tubes (Figure 112) or at all events
those tubes through which air passes, connect directly with
the prolific eyes.

In my belief all members of the vegetable kingdom are
provided with a repair outfit, and in this respect the potato
is well endowed. Very shortly after being cut it exudes
a starchy substance which dries rapidly and, forming a
film over the cut surfaces, restores in some measure, if not
entirely, the impaired insulation, as well as preventing loss,
by evaporation, of the moisture without which it must

166 GERMINATION

become electrically inert. This tuber will, in fact, keep
longer and grow better after being injured than any other
vegetable with which I am acquainted.

Between the Potato and the Jerusalem Artichoke there
are several essential points of difference :

The latter is covered with root filaments, is distinctly
bi-polar as regards the ends, and does not seem to be provided
with so efficient a repair outfit as the Potato. In common
with the latter it has a marginal negative system and
several positive terminals, but it is probable, from the
number of root filaments, that instead of being dependent
upon the mother plant it derives its electrical supply directly
from the earth.

It is, no doubt, new to be told that not only is every fruit,
every vegetable, but indeed every leaf of every vegetable
is an electrical cell which retains full activity during such
time as it is structurally perfect, but every addition to our
knowledge is new, in the sense that it is something we did
not know before.

One of the earlier great authorities upon vegetable life,
Sachs, did not, so far as I am aware, carry out any exper-
ments in electro-biology but he came very near to the truth

SOME FAMILIAR VEGETABLES 167

when he wrote: “‘ We may suppose that in the ordinary
life of land plants especially during the continually altering
differences of electrical tension between the atmosphere
and the soil, equalisations take place through the bodies
of the plants themselves. The land plant rooted in the
soil offers a large surface to the air, by means of its branches,
and the roots are still more closely in contact with the
moist earth, while the whole plant is filled with fluids which
conduct electricity and are decomposed by currents. Such
being the case it can hardly be otherwise than that the elec-
trical tensions between the atmosphere and the earth become
equalised through the plant itself. Whether this acts
favourably on the processes of vegetation, however, has not
been scientifically investigated, since what has been done
here and there in the way of experiments in this sense
can scarcely lay claim to serious notice.”

Ni
vi 1)

VEE

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS OF
THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS OF THE
VEGETABLE KINGDOM

A Stupy FoR THE YOUNGER GENERATION

HE aphorism ‘ There is nothing new under the sun,”’
may be trite but it is, nevertheless, particularly
striking when we are confronted with the work of Nature.
We are apt to plume ourselves upon our progress in Applied
Science, but ninety per cent. of the things we have learned
about in the last century or two have been in evidence
since the recorded beginning of time, so that if there is
cause for wonderment it is not at man’s keenness of percep-
tion or fertility of invention but at the really extraordinary
manner in which he has neglected to sit up and take notice.
Of this instances could be multiplied almost ad infinitum
and irrespective of limitation as to the scientific field.
Education consists, mainly, in looking at the things we are
told to look at and seeing what our teachers know to be
there. Beyond that there is nothing about which we need
give ourselves any concern whatsoever. And, as a rule,
we do not.

Think of the millions of people who have cut an Apple
in section without taking any heed of its obvious electrical
structure. I did it myself, on and off, for thirty years
and should, no doubt, have continued to do it had not a
child opened my eyes.

We were giving a juvenile party—at Christmas time—
and one of the youngsters asked me if there was any elec-
tricity in fruit. With an idea of affording amusement we
went into the laboratory, where I joined up an Orange, a
Lemon, an Apple in the circuit of the galvanometer by means
of steel needles, as electrodes, and some flexible wire. The
deflections obtained were of course attributed by me to

N

172 GERMINATION

weak galvanic currents set up by the needles in contact
with the acid secretion of the fruit. Dr. Trowbridge, Dr.
Radcliffe, and others had given this explanation of the
phenomena and, like everybody else, I had accepted it for
fact and, in all probability, should not have given the
matter another thought had it not been for one thing—in
making one of the contacts I obtained a reversal of sign.

Now, it is quite certain that if the deflections were due
to currents set up by difference of polarity in the needles
no reversal of sign could occur unless the connections were
reversed—and they were not reversed. In that fortuitous
way an investigation was initiated and valuable knowledge
gained. Like many other discoveries it had its origin
in pure accident. I just happened to sit up for a moment
and take notice !

With this preamble we may pay a visit to the garden
and see what further information we can obtain.

Repetition is apt to become wearisome but it is necessary
to remind the reader that the air is the positive and the
earth the negative terminal of Nature’s electrical system.

Electrical circuits are of two kinds, 7.e., “ earth return ”
and “ metallic.” In the former one pole of the battery
at each end is connected with the earth ; in the latter with
a second wire. That, I take it, is understood.

In the natural circuit the negative terminal is necessarily
“earthed ” because it is the earth itself. To complete
the circuit the plant or fruit must have access to the positive
air. In trees and plants this is gained through the stomata
of the leaves, while in fruits the flower end—whether the
flower is decayed or not—is never quite closed.

In these days of electric lighting everyone is more or less
conversant with the fact that there are several ways of
connecting or joining up incandescent lamps. Those in
common use are called respectively Series, Series-parallel,
and Parallel.

Series is when the lamps are strung, so to speak, one
after another upon the feed wire ; Parallel is when a group
of lamps takes the place of one, and Series-parallel a mixture
of the two methods. In the arrangement of batteries,

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 173

Series is carbon to zinc throughout ; Parallel is carbon to
carbon and zine to zinc; and Series-parallel partly carbon
to zine and partly carbon to carbon and zine to zine. The
first increases the electromotive force without increasing
the current quantity, the second increases the current
without augmenting the electromotive force, while the
third permits of an adjustment of both current and electro-
motive force to meet requirements.

Nature employs direct—not alternating—current and
therefore the sectional area of the conductor must vary in
proportion to the quantity of current to be supplied. I say
“* must ”’ because resistance is in the inverse ratio to sectional
area and the natural electromotive force is constant. If
you require more water in a given time and the pressure
cannot be altered you must have a larger pipe.

In the vegetable world all three methods are resorted to
but the one most in vogue is the series-parallel.

As will be seen also in the Chapter upon Acorns the seeds
of the Oak are always joined up in series. There are only
a few of them upon each stalk so that the latter does not
need to be very thick. The stalk is, of course, a continua-
tion of the feed wire from the earth.

by, Ly
z Hpi,
Re,

oe

The apex of the seed is left slightly open, in order that
the circuit may be completed.

In practical electric lighting, as carried out in our houses,
two wires are employed but for the reason above given
Nature can dispense with one of them.

In the incandescent lampholder there are two contacts,
to allow the current to enter at one end of the filament
and pass out at the other. In the Acorn—while it is still
attached to the tree—the apex is open, and two contacts
at the base of the seed are not called for. But the two
things are very much alike.

174 GERMINATION

There are, as you know, several kinds of Ivy. Most,
but not all, of the varieties have their leaves in Series.
Figure 116 is one common to our gardens:

Ivy LEAVES—IN SERIES.

While the next is, I believe, an importation from Japan.

Ivy LEAVES—IN SERIES.

I daresay many other examples could be found, but the
Series connection is comparatively rare. This may be
owing to a greater quantity of current being necessary to
the tree or plant than the Series method would allow.
Series-parallel, on the other hand, offers facilities for adjust-
ment and it is therefore, not surprising to find it largely
exemplified in fruits, flowers, and leaves.

The next illustrations are of Fuchsias, the first an old
favourite :

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 175

Fig 8

FUCHSIAS—IN SERIES-PARALLEL.

And the second a rather pretty group of Ballet Girls !

Fig 19

FUCHSIAS—IN SERIES-PARALLEL,.

In both, the leaves as well as the flowers are in Sunigae
parallel and this rule applies to every member of the Fuchsia
family.

176 GERMINATION

As regards the comparative thickness of the main leads
of the Oak, the Ivy and our last two illustrations the respec-
tive sizes of the tree and plants must be taken into considera-
tion. A fairer comparison would be with Cherry Apples.

CHERRY APPLES—IN PARALLEL.

And Horse Chestnut leaves, both of which are in Parallel. }

HorSE-CHESTNUT LEAVES—IN PARALLEL.

The thinner line in Figure 120 is a pin. Beneath it is
the stalk upon which the leaves and fruit are borne, and
it is certainly thicker than those of the Acorns and Ivies.

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 177

Nor can there be any doubt that the stalk of the Horse
Chestnut is intended to carry a considerable quantity of
current.

We can obtain a better view of it by stripping the leaves.
They are, as will be seen, tapped off a central boss.

fig. /é2 \|

HoRSE-CHESTNUT VENATION.

In Figure 121 there are only five leaves. Figure 122
has six and therefore the Stalk is a little thicker. ;

That, I think, should convince the reader, but in case
it does not we will take some Apples from the tree. They
are young yet but will serve our purpose.

APPLES—IN PARALLEI,.

I have cut off the leaves. There were eleven of them and
the stalk is quite thick.

The flowers of the Geranium are in Parallel and if you
look at them you will find that the diameter of the stalk
increases with the number of flowers it has to support. In

178 GERMINATION

Figure 124 the stem on the left bears five flowers and that
on the right fourteen.

GERANIUM FLOWERS—IN PARALLEL.

Finally, and in order to clinch the matter, the reader
may be referred to a bunch of Bananas. These are in
Parallel and the stalk is of the proportions of an Atlantic”
cable !

And now let us hark back to Series-parallel.

In the cluster of Elderberries which forms the subject
of our next illustration

ELDERBERRIES—IN SERIES PARALLEL.

it will be seen that there are five branch leads from the

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 179

feed wire and that from each of these a number of subsidiary
leads ramify. Upon the latter the berries are carried in
Serves.

In a bunch of grapes a different arrangement obtains :

41g. 126

GRAPES—SERIES-PARALLEL.

Here the main branch leads of the Elderberries are
absent, but subsidiary leads are tapped off the stalk in such
manner as to enforce symmetry of growth and upon these
the Grapes are borne in Series-parallel. The bunches,
however, are always in Series.

And so on, and so on. There is no dearth of material.
Look round the garden and the orchard, at the Plums,
the Cherries, the Raspberries, the Pears, the Peas and Beans :

Fi 128

PEAS—SERIES-PARALLEL,. RUNNER BEANS—SERIES-PARALLEL.

180 GERMINATION

The feed wire in both splits at the shell end of the stalk
into two and the Peas and Beans are carried alternately
upon each. Notice particularly the leaves of vegetables,
bearing in mind the fact that the greater number, especially
in parallel, call for a thick conductor, or feed wire, to supply
their needs.

Compare the sectional area of the stalks, having regard
to the size of the plant, in all three modes of connection,
and take a new interest in vegetable life; a phase of it
upon which botany has, hitherto, been silent.

And now I am going to tell you something more. Every
plant and fruit, flower and leaf of that plant, is a self-con-
tained electrical cell, having positive and negative terminals
like every other cell. They differ, however, from cells
made by man in one important respect.

Two types of cells with which most people are familiar
are the ‘‘ Dry” and the “ Leclanche.” If these are kept
in continuous use for an hour or so they become what is
called ‘‘ polarised,”’ or in other words “ used up.” Not so
with the vegetable cell. We will take two: an Apple
and an Onion.

Fosthive termina!

Negative lerruratl

APPLE—IN SECTION.

While the Apple remains upon the tree the stalk and
core—which latter is insulated from the edible portion of
the fruit—are negatively charged by the earth, while the
flower end is open to the positive air. After it falls, or is

ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 181

removed from the tree the end of the stalk is at once sealed,
either by a resinous or gummy excretion or by becoming
fibroid. The earth charge is cut off and therefore one
would think electrification would cease. That is not so,
however, The flower end is never closed and so long as it
is exposed to air the core and stalk are negatively charged
by induction ; the rind or peel conserving the energy of the
cell.

You cannot polarise this piece of electrical apparatus,
not even if you short-circuit it for six months on end.

The Onion is even more remarkable :

Wen, ferrrinat

ONION—IN SECTION.

It is a standard cell of a very perfect description. The
current evolved by it, in accordance with established laws,
varies directly with size, but the electromotive force of
them all is the same, 7.e., 0.086 volt. The outer insulation,
consisting as it does of a number of dry, non-conducting
layers, is very high and both negative and positive terminals
are well defined, rendering it invaluable for all purposes
where a standard cell of low electromotive force is required.

INDEX

A

ABSORPTION Theory, The, 46.

ACORNS, 32, 34, 58 et seq.,; 82, 86,
87, 89, 173.

Acoustic Nerve, 125 et seq.

ADVENTITIOUS Budding, 3.

Germination, 3.
Ame and Vegetable Life, 57.
AIR-CHARGE and ‘“‘ Blaze ’’ Currents,
168.

Arr, Energy from, 57, 113.

AIR Pump, 105.

AIR Vitalised, 4.

ALCOHOL, and Sleep, 152.

AMCGBOID Movement, 144.

ANESTHETICS and Sleep, 151.

ANIMAL and Vegetable Cells, 22, 24.

ANIMAL Body Electrical in Struc-
ture, 10, 21.

APPLE, The, 172, 177, 180.

ARRANGEMENT of the Embryo, 58.

ARTICHOKE, The, 166.

Avupitory Apparatus,The, 119 et seq.
nh as Faults in, 132.
a Nerves, 120, 124.

B

BASILAR Membrane, 125 ef seq.
BEAN, Scarlet Runner, 161.
BEGINNING of Life, 3.
“* BLAZE’ Currents, 106 ef seq.
ee Bose on, 108.

Boop, Potential of, 124.
Bony Labyrinth, The, 124.
BOSE on the Absorption Theory, 46.
BRAIN, Blood Supply of, 21.

» Seat of Highest Potential,

119, 149, 152.

BRUSSELS Sprout, The, 158.

Cc

CABBAGE, The, 158.
CANCER, 134 ef seq.
CANCER and Paraffin, 136.
a and Sodium Chloride, 146.
‘ Origin, of, 146.
Capacity, Electrostatic, 57.
CARBON and Plant Growth, 49, 54.
CARCINOMA, 146.
CARREL, Experiments of, 5 et seg. ;
144,
CAULIFLOWER, The, 160.
CELLS, Carpenter on, 24.
CELL Formation, Endogenous, 143.
CELL Division, 14 et seqg.; 144.
CELL Disintegration, 144.
CELL Division by Force, 145 e¢ seq.
CELLS, Ganglion, 17 et seg.; 119.
j0. Giant) 143
se.) Ekair, 127 (eines
» of Deiters, 127.
» Vegetable and Animal, 22,
24, 60.
CENTROSOMES, 135 et seq.
CHEMICAI, Theory unsatisfactory, 10,
149.
CHERRY Apples, 176.
CHESTNUT, The Edible, 21 e¢ seq.
» Horse, 30 ef seq.
CHLOROPHYLL and Hemoglobin, 60.
» Light, 36, 60, 71,
85.
CHLOROPLASTS of Plant Cells, 60.
Circuits, Closed, 121, 123. -
re Electrical, 172 e¢ seq.
Open, 123.
CLOSED Circuits, 121, 123.
CocuLEA, The, 124 ef seg.
CONDUCTION of the Nerve Impulse,
17 et seq.; 56, 119.
CONDUCTIVITY and Heat, 98 eé seq.
Corti, Organ of, 125.

INDEX

Corron Seeds, 102.
CUCUMBER, The, 161.
CURRENT, Direction of, 101.
CURRENTS, from Animal and Vege-
table Skins, 106.
re from Skins, 107.
Ge High Tension, 101.

i Positive Polarisation, 107
i Post-anodic Action, 107.
ae Skin, 107.

D

DkEaD and Living Matter, 5.
DIcKER Soil, The, 98, 99.
DIFFERENCES of Contact, 112.
DIFFUSION, 112.

DIRECTION of Current, 101.
Direct Working Telephone, 121.
DISINTEGRATION of Cells, 144.
Division, Nitotic, 136, 142.
Dry Soil and Electricity, 98, 103.

E

EAR, The, 119 e¢ seq.
EDIBLE Chestnut, 21.
EFFECT of Electrical Stimulus upon
Growth, 41 et seg. ; 47 et seq. ;
103, 136 e¢ seg.
EFFECT of Heat on Growth, 43, 55
Pie, peoutice,. 146.
» » Radium on Growth, 43.
ELDERBERRIES, 178.
ELECTRICAL Circuits, 172.

be Connections of Plants,
171 ef seq.

He Stimuli, 41 e¢ seg. ; 101,
102.135,

a Structure of the

Animal Body, 10, 21.
= Radicle, 79 et seq.
* Seed, 23.

Seedling, 89, 93.
ELECTRICITY and Dry Soil, 98.
Ee » Life, 24.
a Static, 33.

ELECTRIFICATION of Seeds, 26 ef seq. ;

142.

ELECTRIFIED Grass, 48 e¢ seg. ; 103,
eT

is Potatoes, 30 ef seq. ;

138.
Tomatoes, 53, 138.
ELECTROSTATIC Capacity of Man, 57.
Embryo, Arrangement of, 58.

183

EMBRYOS, Multiple, 76.
ENDOGENOUS Cell Formation, 14.
ENDOLYMPH, 120 é seq.
ENERGY, Direction of, 101.
He from Air, 57.
Light, 4, 41, 54, 56,
62.

o ”

F

Factors in Germination, 35.
FAMILIAR Vegetables, 157 et seq.
““ Fauits ” in Auditory Apparatus,
132.
FERROUS Sulphate, 102.
FERTILISATION of the Ovule, 2.
Fatus, The Human, 1, 3, 8.
Foop Supply and Water, 101.
FORCED Cell Division, 144 ef seq.
FRAGMENTATION of the Nucleus, 143.
Fucusias, 174.

G

GANGLION Cells, 19 ef seg.; 119.
GENERATION, Intra-Cellular, 57.
GENERATION of Nerve Force, 4, 119,

152.
GERANIUM, The, 177.
GERMINATION, Adventitious, 3.

ig Electrical Processes

i) Zomwoe,

. Factors in, 35.

a Inequality in, 83.

x of the Acorn, 34, 58

et seq.

i As Chestnut, 21,
30, 88 e¢ seq.

oi » Hazel Nut, 82
et seq.

S . Walnut, 37 e
seq.

Premature, 39.
GIANT "Cells, 143.
GouRD, The, 162.
GRAPES, 179.
GRASSES, Electrified, 48 et seg.;
£03; 132:

H

H2MOGLOBIN and Chlorophyll, 60.

Hair Cells, 127 e¢ seq.

HartTING Soil, The, 98.

HAZEL, Nuts, Germination of, 82 e
seq.

184

HAZEL, Nut, The, 59, 62, 85-89.
HEARING, Mechanism of, 120.
HEART, Regulation of, 21.
HeEav and Conductivity, 98 et seq.
Energy, 55.

” o

» effect of on Growth, 43, 55.

HicH Tension Currents, 101.
HorsE Chestnut, 30 e¢ seg. ; 62, 88
et seq.; 176.
a a Leaves, 176.
HvuxLEy on Life, 25.

InDuCcTION Coil, 123 et seq.

INTRA-CELLULAR Generation, 57.

Ionic Solution, 146.

TRON in Plant and Animal Cells, 60,
158.

Ivy Leaves, 174.

J
JERUSALEM Artichoke, 166.

L

Lavpowsky, Experiments of, 144
et seq.
Lemon, The, 171.
LiFE, Beginning of, 3.
», and Chemical Reaction, 6.
», and Electricity, 24.
», Huxley on, 25.
» Origin of, 6 et seq.
Licut, Energy from, 4, 41, 54, 56,
61, 113.
» Stimulus of, 45.
» Wibration, 4.
LooraH, The, 162.

M

MANGEL Wurzel, The, 163.
MECHANICAL, Vibration and Nerves,
131

MEMBRANE, Basilar, 125 et seq.
MEMBRANA Tectoria, 125 ef seq.
MEMBRANOUS Labyrinth, 124.
MEMBRANE of Reissner, 125 et seq.
MICROPHONE, The, 123.
Mirosis, 14 et seq.
Mirotic Division, 136, 142.

» Processes, 142.

» Segmentation, 136.

INDEX

MOVEMENT, Ameceboid, 144.

MULTIPLICATION of Centrosomes, 135
et seq.

MULTIPLE Embryos, 76.

Musfarp Plants, 102.

N

NARCOSIS, 148 ef seq.

NATURE’S Electrical System, 21, 79.

NERVES and Mechanical Vibration,
131.

NERVE-FOoRCE, Generation of, 4, 119,
152;

NERVE-IMPULSE, Conduction of, 17,
56, 119.

NucLEuS, Fragmentation of, 143.

NUTRIMENT in the Seed, 90, 95, et seq.

O

Oak, The, 81 ef seg.; 85, 173.
OLD Sleeping with Young, 153.
ONION, The, 181.

OPEN Circuits, 123.

OPEN Ground Seed, 73.
ORANGE, The, 171.

ORGAN of Corti, 125.

ORIGIN of Cancer, 146.

» o Lafe, Gre kee
OVER-IONISATION, 135 e¢ seq.
OVULE, Fertilisation of, 2.
OXYGEN and the Seedling, 62, 93.

Importance of, 35, 54, 57,
149, 152, 159.

P

PAN Formation, 97.
PARAFFIN and Cancer, 136.
PEAS, 179.

PERILYMPH, 120 e¢ seq.
PHILLIPINES, 74.
PuysioLocGy Considered, 9.
PLACENTA, The, 3.
PoIsoNns, Vegetable, 157.
POLARISATION, 112, 114.
PoLARIty of Pot-grown Plants, 73.
POSITIVE Polarisation Currents, 107.
Post-ANopic Action Currents, 107.
POTENTIAL of the Blood, 124.
Potato, The, 164.

Pot-GRowN Seedlings, 80.
PRE-CANCEROUS Condition, 135.
PouLtice, Effect of, 146.

INDEX

Q

Quatity of Tone, 121.

R

RADICLE, Electrical Structure of, 79.
RapiuM, Effect of on Growth, 43.
Rays, Various, 43.
REGULATION of Energy Supply, 21.
REPAIR Outfits of Vegetables and
Seeds, 34, 39, 62.
REPRODUCTION, Cell, 14 et seq.
Sexual, 1.
RESONANCE Theory, 130.
RESUSCITATION after Freezing, 12.
REVERSAL of Plant Polarity, 73.
RHUBARB Leaves, 157.
Rice, 102.

Rops of Corti, 127 et seq.

Roor Production, 41, 49, 52, 54,
Big too.
RUNNER Beans, 179.
Ss
Savoy, The, 158.
ScaLa Tympani, 125 et seq.
» Westibuli, 125 et seq.

SCARLET Runner Bean, 161, 179.
SEED containing Nutriment, 90, 95.
» Effect of Perforation, 34.

», Hlectrical Processes in, 23.

» Hlectrification, 26 et seq. ; 42.
» Germination of, 23, 30 ef seq. 5

» Shrinkage of, 90, 95.
SEEDLINGS, 2.

» Electrical Structure of,
Pot-grown, 80 ef seq.
SEEDS, Repair Outfits of, 34.

» Waller on, 7 ef seq.
SEGMENTATION, Mitotic, 136.
SELANGINELLA, 1.
SEXUAL Reproduction, 1 e¢ seq.
SHOPWYKE Soil, The, 98.
SHRINKAGE of the Seed, 90, 95.
SKIN Currents, 107.
SLEEP and Anesthetics, 151.

Pi » Narcosis, 148 et seq.

», Chemical and Histological

Theories, 149 et seq.

Soprum Chloride and Cancer, 146.
_ Som, and Water Electrically Con-
sidered, 97 et seq.

185

Soir, Conditions and Plant Growth,
42 et seq.
» Conductivity, 98.
» HHlectrification, 42.
» Hlectrolytes in, 35, 98.
Sorts, Moist, 102.
SoLuTIONS, Ionic, 146.
SoME Familiar Vegetables, 157 et seq.
SOMNOLENCY and Alcohol, 152.
,, Food, 152.
STATIC Electricity, 33.
STIMULUS of Light, 45.
STRUCTURE of the Radicle, 79.

tT

TELEPHONES, Direct Working, 121.
TESTING in Vacuo, 105 eé¢ seq.
TOMATOES, Electrification of, 53, 138.
Tomato, The, 163.
Tumours, 144.
TUNNEL of Corti,

127, et seq.
TURNIP, The, 163.

Vv

vacuo, Testing in, 105 ef seq.
VARIOUS Rays and Plant Growth, 43
VEGETABLE and Animal Cells, 22,
24,
es Life and Air, 57.
me Marrow, The, 161.
Poisons, 157.
VITALISED Air, 4, 57.

Ww

WALLER on Seeds, 7 ef seq.
WALNUT, The, 36 et seqg.; 88.
WATER and Food Supply, 101.
a » soil Electrically consi-
dered, 97 ef seq.
» as an Electrolyte, 98, 102
et seq.
Wuat is Life? 12.
WINTER-CHERRY Plants Electrified,
53.
WULFRYN Process and Seeds, 26
et seq.

¥,
YouneG Sleeping with the Old, 153.

BowErinc & Co., St. ANDREW’s Printinc W
GEORGE STREET, PLYMOUTH.

New York Botanical Garden Library

45 .B3 gen
185 00076 2573

3 5

=
QK8
| Bain

Sik

estate

Rear tene.

Se ne ee

"atlases

SOCK
ern

SSA
mee

cs

rs ae

SETS

aie

esas
pat een