Abstract
THE object of our paper is to describe the behaviour of turgescent pith when placed in water and treated with certain reagents. If from a growing shoot the external tissues be removed, a well-known result is seen: the pith suddenly lengthens, becoming longer than the specimen was at first. This experiment shows that turgescent pith is normally in a compressed condition—it is always trying to get longer—and when it is freed from the coercion of the unyielding external tissues, it at once does become longer. This tendency to become longer is further manifested by allowing turgescent pith to remain in damp air, or in water, for some time, when a great increase in length takes place. In such a piece of pith we have the essential, active factor in growth, freed from interference, and at liberty to perform its function rapidly and freely. The tendency in turgescent pith to get longer is the very power which calls forth that increase in length which we call growth; so that in studying turgescent pith wo are studying the active agent in the production of growth. We do not suppose that our results are necessarily directly applicable to normal growth,2 but we think that they have a bearing on normal growth sufficiently close to give interest to our experiments.
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References
Abstract of a Paper by Anna Bateson (Newnham College) and Francis Darwin (Cambridge), read before the Linnean Society, January 20, 1887
For the sake of conveniencewe shallnevertheless use the word “ growth “ to mean the elongation of the pith under observation.
Sunflower and Jerusalem Artichoke.
This contraction is simply a symptom of flaccidity, and usually of death.
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On the Effect of Certain Stimuli on Vegetable Tissues 1 . Nature 35, 429–430 (1887). https://doi.org/10.1038/035429a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/035429a0