RECORD: Darwin, C. R. 1873.06.17. Sticks with pins. CUL-DAR55.80. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 1.2023. RN1

NOTE: See record in the Darwin Online manuscript catalogue, enter its Identifier here. Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library and William Huxley Darwin. The volumes CUL-DAR 54-61 contain material for Darwin's book Insectivorous plants (1875).


(10

Jun 17th (1873) 11˚ 30'. (Sticks with pins)

2 caused by bit of meat on each leaf tentacle to bend by bit of meat & then cut off Head to see if any others bend.— (with ink, beginning to rise 8˚ P.m.)

(18th 8˚ 40; now perfectly straight — put on roast meat

(19' 9 30' still perfectly straight. (see about Segregation below just the same here)

do. 17th 10˚ 20' Stick with 2 pins cut off several glands (& then after straightening again, put on meat & see if will bend again) (many of them became inflected in very soon after the glands were cut off.— (4˚ 45' still inflected.)

7˚ P.m beginning to become straight —

18th. 8˚ 35' all the tentacles with cut off glands are now perfectly straight & parallel to their neighbours— Put on roast meat

18th 4˚ 45' I can now see only 2 straight, so I suppose others are inflected.)

(19th 11˚ I have now dissected this leaf, & I find 3 tentacles as much inflected as any others, so certain case, bend when glands cut off, straighten (from action on bending point alone) & when excited by meat again bend— Therefore action can be transmitted from gland & from centre to bending point, independently of gland itself. There was some segregation in all these glands, but not nearly equal to those tent with glands which had touched the meat

Seg / (over

(10A

18th 9˚ 10' put on meat & cut off gland after it had commenced moving to see if others move

(2 others do. (10˚ 20') single gland on 2 separate leaves)

N. B. the movement shows that stimulus has proceeded as far as base of tentacle & during cont commencing movement wd have time to proceed further, but perhaps stimulus inefficient

19th 9˚ 30' In these 3 leaves many other tentacles have moved. Put on meat on all 3 to see if tentacles which are now quite straight will bend.

The leaves with red spot on pedicel have tentacles on pedicel with gland cut off.

Jun 21st 9˚ a.m. The tentacles became as much incurved as its neighbour at 4˚ 45' removed meat & washed the leaf to see if this one will straighten itself again

(24th 8˚ 15; it is much straighter again!!! so has risen twice without a gland!!!)

(25. 8˚ 30 quite straight)

Pin with black head has marginal tentacles with gland cut off

Jun 25th 8˚ 30' at last this has become inflected!!

Plain pin has tentacles of 2d outer row cut off

This tentacle never never did not never became inflected over meat.

Stick with Pins on Heads (over

[in margin:] Mem. tendril of Cissus bend to any side which is touched; but then case far more remarkable, because they bend towards an action originated at a distance


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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

File last updated 14 May, 2023