[66]

Oxalis acetosella 1877

Oct 4'

Youngish leaf placed (free) almost facing light & shaded by other leaves first went greatly down— perhaps the disturbance & then up & then down for position of pot had to be changed & at 12° 11' first good dot made see diagram (1)

See Oxalis Portfolio (Sleep)

(Second leaf better observed, full-grown in same position, bristle fixed along mid-rib of first leaf & looked along— see Diagram (2)

I believe movements more complex than represented. Began 10° 54' & ended 5° 30 & went at least 4 times up & 4 times down. After 5° 30 went vertically down for was fast asleep at 7° P.m. Next morning at 6° 45' a.m was nearly awake but far down & then rose rapidly as shown by position at 7° 45' a.m.)

(Oct 5th This second leaf in same position, traced all day. Diagram 3.

N.B. In all the tracings, no doubt movement [considerably] greater, if dots placed every 10' or 15'. Between 7° 52' a.m. & 5° 36' P.m. went 4 times down & thrice up. At 5°. 36' apparently not asleep. At 7° fast asleep & bristle pointing vertically down. At 7° next morning (6th.) was apparent fully apparently awake, so that bristle had become horizontal & then fell rose rapidly to 9° 50' so that really was awaking, as leaf then rose so rapidly when tracing no longer continued, but no doubt leaf wd soon in an hour or two have begun to fall.— Day almost uniformly bright in the N.E. Sky.—