[100)

(Useless) All erroneous

1878 Phalaris apogeotropism

There is something odd about this case.

Sept 27' 9° a.m. fastened externally with 3 fine threads & shell-lac thin, rigid, hollow glass rods to about upper half of 5 tall cotyledons— pot laid almost horizontally in dark, to see if rigidity of upper half will prevent lower half bending up through apogeotropism.

Examined at 5° Pm— all 5 nearly straight & vertical, strange contrast to the Heliotropic ones except one very slightly curved upward & in this one glass rod oblique as if f not fixed perpendicularly— Freed 3 of from glass rods, but I fear that I injured one (+ one broken) to see if these 2 will turn up in course of night (surrounded by Pins) & whether other 2 will get more turned— yes they did so, but by forgetfulness— I did not obser observe carefully enough.—

It cannot be weight for I fixed similar & some of the very same rods this morning to tips, so that weight by leverage, wd be greater & two were decidedly turned up, though I knocked them off— two other left for tomorrow morning (The rods dropped off during night)

Oct 1' about 9° a.m fixed with thread & shell-lac at one end rods to 5 young cotyledons, & by 5° 5. P.m. all them were covered up, as were 5 to which similar & rather heavier ones were fixed to tips, but not tied proving not weight. —These were young, which I suppose →

[100v]

makes the great difference in result compared with yesterday,

For I now fixed rod to one tall cot. by shall-lac alone & this remained quite vertical: I freed it from the rod & next morning Oct. 2d at 9° a.m was as much up curved as any.— Why does a tall cot. not bend up, when upper end secured & whilst a young one does??

Oct 5' I have now tried 9 other tall seedlings with glass-rods cemented to them, & most of them as much bent as any — Of course upper part cannot bend, & lower part is too old to bend & this caused some to remain vertical & probably was cause of first erroneous conclusion—