EXERCISE OF PLANTS.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3209, 2 June 1879, Page 4

EXERCISE OF PLANTS.

A novel idea has been advanced by a French writer'irirapsw<sr;;to an-article^ by Professor" oaldwell upon "The Current Nonsenseabout Silica,'' in which the tob-s jector states that he thinks the Professor 1 overlooks- onereleinentr'which v produces ■treng^thin th^stalkaiof the cereals, and tha|''i^,.-the, !jieicessi|y >p| jmption, ;Otj 11 ex^rcise^'.as.he balls;it, which, the plant woijlxtbjs Sailoweditojtajke by iraviug freely with the. action pf the windy and which is impossibles rwith >■. thick' seeding. He writes---"As in animal :life, -is not this motion necessary for..; health: arid vigory and ii not <the want of & *p'owar ful: cauie of• the; weak,; spindling growth > which' the ■ Professor -ascribes" as entirely 'due 46 •hade? The, outside of a field; of grainy which' c,4'n ' Way^ freely ['to' the breeze, 1 shaded 'as;?mo)st:u>f; it \ is^'neyer .falls or lodges, so far I hi ( y6, ptisieryed | while the thickly pl^^d : i^eriQ^VtbV';^ad| i'!'p't. whiflh.can only'Tswaj jtbxtiie ''{W,ind,: i« ihej part^which invariably, lodges. One qfjhey, gretlt, advantages! of drilling i» - that, the, •talks havtt room to sway; from side to aide, besides permitting light and air to penetrate and circulate (between the drills. Ghambers's Magazine 'for June has an interesting article on the} effect of light; on plants, in ifhichj-' referring- to Ihep^ib'tia('.»habits' of ;';climbinfe^? plaiits turnifag 'from 'left tor right^ ;the' writer" 'concludes that I light' 'is .the influential cause. Bjitf i'h'a^e tha^ the hop vines invariabiyi'iturn "in., the counter,s^nse of those pj the bean; family. —i.e., from right to left. Can you explain, this apparently mysterious freak of Nature ?, The conclusion of the Chambers' -, article will, I trust, bear quoting 1 for the benefit of your readers :' The direct rays of, the sun exert a potent influence on, every living thing, , plant or animal. Sunlight, fair and full up'bii you and upon your dwelling, might be called the greatest comfort of life.'"