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Show 222 DROSERA ROTUNDIFOLIA. CHAP. IX. A plant waR exposed in the same vessel to the gas for 45 m., and bits of meat were then placed on four glands. But the tentacles did not move for 1 hr. 40 m.; after 2 hr8. 30 m. all four were well inflected, and after 3 hrs. reached the centre. The following singular phenomenon sometimes, but by no means always, occurred. A plant was immersed for 2 hrs., and bits of meat were then placed on several glands. In tho cour"e of 13 m. all the submarginal tentacles on one leaf became considerably inflected; those with the meat not in the least degree more than the others. On a second leaf, which was rather old, the tentacles with meat, as well as a few others, were moderately inflected. On a third leaf all the tentacles were closely inflected, though meat had not been placed on any of the glands. This movement, I presume, may be attributed to excitement from the absorption of oxygen. The last-mentioned leaf, to which no meat had been given, was fully re-expanded after 24 hrs.; whereas the two other leaves had all their tentacles closely inflected over the bits of meat which by this time had been carried to their centres. rrhus these three leaves had perfectly recovered from the effects of the gas in the course of 24 hrs. On another occasion some fine plants, after having been left for 2 hrs. in the gas, were immediately given bits of meat in the usual manner, and on their exposure to the air most of their tentacles became in 12m. curved into a vertical or sub-vertical position, but in an extremely irregular manner; some only on one side of the leaf and some on the other. They remained in this position for some time; the tentacles with the bits of meat not having at first moved more quickly or farther inwards than the others without meat. But after 2 hrs. 20m. the former began to move, and steadily went on bending until they reached the centre. Next morning, after 22 hrs., all the tentacles on these leaves were closely clasped over the meat which had been carried to their centres; whilst the vertical and sub-vertical tentacles on the other leaves to which no meat had been given had fully re-expanded. Judging, however, from the subsequent action ot a weak solution of carbonate of ammonia on one of these latter leaves, it had not perfectly recovered its excitability and power of movement in 22 hrs.; but another leaf, after an additional 24 hrs., had completely recovered, judging from the manner in which it clasped a fly placed on its disc. I will give only one other experiment. After the exposure of a plant for 2 hrs. to the gas, one of its leaves was immersed in a rather strong solution of carbonate of ammonia, together with / CHAP. IX. SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTER. 223 a fresh leaf from another plant. Tho latter had most of its tentacles strongly inflected within 30m.; whereas the loaf which had been exposed to tho carbonic acid remained for 24 hrs. in the solution without undergoing any inflection, with the exception of two tentacles. This loaf had been almo t completely paralysed, and was not able to recover its sensibility whilst still in the solution, which from having been made with distilled water probably contained little oxygen. Concluding Remarks on the Effects of the foregoing Agents.-As th glands, wh n excited, transmit om influence to the surrounding tentacles, cau ing them to bend and their glands to pour forth an incr as d. amount of modi£. d. s cr tion, I was anxious to ascertain whether the leaves included any element having the nature of nerve-tissue, which, though not continuous, served as the channel of transmission. This led me to try tho several alkaloids and oth r substances which are kn wn to exert a powerful influence on the nervous system of animals. I was at first encouraged in my trials by finding that strychnine, digitaline, and nicotine, which all act on the nervous system, were poisonous to Dros ra, and caused. a certain amount of inflection. Hydrocyanic acid, again, which is so deadly a poison to animals, caused rapid movement of the tentacles. But as several innocuous acids, though 1nuch diluted, such as benzoic, acetic, &c., as well as some ess ntial oils, are extremely poisonous to Drosera, and quickly cause strong inflection, it seems probable that strychnine, nicotine, digitaline, and hydrocyanic acid, excite inflection by acting on elem nts in no way analogous to the nerve-cells of animals. If elmnents of this latter nature had been present in the loaves, it might have been expected that morphia, hyoscyamus, atropine, veratrine, colchicine, curar , and diluted alcohol would have produced some marked effect; wher as |