Five of the tentacles began moving after an interval of a few minutes, and in these cases I clearly saw that the particles touched the lower surface of the gland. A sixth tentacle moved after 1 hr. 45 m., and the particle was now in contact with the gland, which was not the case at first. So it was with the seventh tentacle, but its movement did not begin until 3 hrs. 45 m. had [page 31] elapsed. The remaining six tentacles never moved as long as they were observed; and the particles apparently never came into contact with the surfaces of the glands.
From these experiments we learn that particles not containing soluble matter, when placed on glands, often cause the tentacles to begin bending in the course of from one to five minutes; and that in such cases the particles have been from the first in contact with the surfaces of the glands. When the tentacles do not begin moving for a much longer time, namely, from half an hour to three or four hours, the particles have been slowly brought into contact with the glands, either by the secretion being absorbed by the particles or by its gradual spreading over them, together with its consequent quicker evaporation. When the tentacles do not move at all, the particles have never come into contact with the glands, or in some cases the tentacles may not have been in an active condition. In order to excite movement, it is indispensable that the particles should actually rest on the glands; for a touch once, twice, or even thrice repeated by any hard body is not sufficient to excite movement.
Another experiment, showing that extremely minute particles act on the glands when immersed in water, may here be given. A grain of sulphate of quinine was added to an ounce of water, which was not afterwards filtered; and on placing three leaves in ninety minims of this fluid, I was much surprised to find that all three leaves were greatly inflected in 15 m.; for I knew from previous trials that the solution does not act so quickly as this. It immediately occurred to me that the particles of the undissolved salt, which were so light as to float about, might have come [page 32] into contact with the glands, and caused this rapid movement. Accordingly I added to some distilled water a pinch of a quite innocent substance, namely, precipitated carbonate of lime, which consists of an impalpable powder; I shook the mixture, and thus got a fluid like thin milk. Two leaves were immersed in it, and in 6 m. almost every tentacle was much inflected. I placed one of these leaves under the microscope, and saw innumerable atoms of lime adhering to the external surface of the secretion. Some, however, had penetrated it, and were lying on the surfaces of the glands; and no doubt it was these particles which caused the tentacles to bend. When a leaf is immersed in water, the secretion instantly swells much; and I presume that it is ruptured here and there, so that little eddies of water rush in. If so, we can understand how the atoms of chalk, which rested on the surfaces of the glands, had penetrated the secretion. Anyone who has rubbed precipitated chalk between his fingers will have perceived how excessively fine the powder is. No doubt there must be a limit, beyond which a particle would be too small to act on a gland; but what this limit is, I know not. I have often seen fibres and dust, which had fallen from the air, on the glands of plants kept in my room, and these never induced any movement; but then such particles lay on the surface of the secretion and never reached the gland itself.
Finally, it is an extraordinary fact that a little bit of soft thread, 1/50 of an inch in length and weighing 1/8197 of a grain, or of a human hair, 8/1000 of an inch in length and weighing only 1/78740 of a grain (.000822 milligramme), or particles of precipitated chalk, after resting for a short time on a gland, should induce some change in its cells, exciting them [page 33] to transmit a motor impulse throughout the whole length of the pedicel, consisting of about twenty cells, to near its base, causing this part to bend, and the tentacle to sweep through an angle of above 180o.