Page:Life Movements in Plants.djvu/196

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LIFE MOVEMENTS IN PLANTS

that causes perception in a human being. For convenience I shall designate the intensity of electric shock that is barely perceptible to us as the unit shock. When an intensity of 0.25 unit was applied to the growing organ, it responded to it by a retardation of growth. Inspection of Fig. 61 shows
Fig. 61.—Time-relations of response of growing organ to electric stimulus of increasing intensities applied at the short horizontal lines. Successive dots at intervals of 2 seconds.
that there is a flexure induced in the curve in response to stimulus, the flattening of the curve denoting retardation of growth. The latent period, in this case, is 6 seconds. The normal rate was restored after 5 minutes. The intensity of shock was next raised from 0.25 unit to one unit. The second record shows that the latent period is reduced to 4 seconds, and a relatively greater retardation of growth was induced by the action of the stronger stimulus. The recovery of the normal rate was effected after the longer period of 10 minutes. I took one more record, the intensity being three units. The latent period was now reduced to 1 second, and the induced retardation was so great as to effect a temporary arrest of growth.

TABLE X.—TIME-RELATIONS OF RESPONSIVE GROWTH-VARIATION UNDER ELECTRIC SHOCK (Crinum).

Intensity of
stimulus.
Latent period. Normal rate. Retarded rate.
0.25 unit.
0.251 unit.
0.253 unit.
6 seconds.
4 seconds.
1 seconds.
0.62 μ per sec.
0.62 μ per
0.62 μ per
0.49 μ per sec.
0.25 μ per
Temporary arrest of growth.