Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1880-01-08

none mentaisa carries its flowers erect
when the weather is fine, and dropping
when overcast. 1t will rain If the whit
low grass lets it leaves hang dropping,
if the gallium verum swells and ex-
hales strongly, also if the birch scents
the air.
The sensitiveness Of plants to light,
heat and moisture was made by Lin
n@us, the great botanist, the basis Of
many experiments and observations,
resulting in the arrangement called his
"horal clock" 1t is curious fact
that there are twenty-four varieties Of
plants whose blossoms open successive
ly at the different hours of the day and
night. The flowers Of the water lily
close and sink into the water precisely
at sunset, rise again to the surface and
expand with sunrise. Pliny described
the lotus of the Euphrates, which fol-
lowed the same order; and the reVer-
ence which was paid to the lotus by the
Egyptians is supposed by some to be
from this association with the sacred
sun. Flowers and fruits Of the lotus
are engraved on Eastern tombs and
monuments, and adorn the heads of
their sculptured deities Besides the
floral clock,n there is a floral calen-
dar, in which each month is marked by
its own loyal flower.
1t is well known that plants sleep at
night; but their hours of sleeping are a
matter of habit, and may be disturbed
artifcially, just as a cock may be walked
up to crow at an untimely hour by the
| light of lantern. A French chemist
subjected a sensitive plant to an ex-
ceedingly trying, course of discipline,
by completely changing its hours, ex-
posing it to a bright light at night, and
putting it in a dark room during the
day. The plant appeared to be much
puzzled at first. 1t opened and closed
It's leaves irregularly, sometimes nod
ding in spite of the artificial sun that
shed its beams at midnight, and some
times waking up, from force of habit,
to find the chamber dark in spite of the
time of day. Such are the trammels of
use and won't But, after an obvious
struggle, the plant submitted to the
change, and accepted the night for the
day without any apparent i'll effects.
We notice that an Italian chemist has
recently made some experiments which
have resulted in the discovery thatveg-
etable perfumes exercise a positively
healthful influence upon the atmos-
phere by converting its oxygen into
ozone, and thus increasing its oXidizing
influences. The essences found to de-
velop the largest quantity Of ozone are
those of the cherry, laurel, clover, Law
ender, mint, juniper, lemon, fennel and
bergamot; those that give smaller guam
titles are anise, nutmeg and thyme.
Flowers destitute of perfume do not de-
Velop ozone, and those which have but
slight perfume develop it only in small
quantities. Reasoning from these facts,
| the Professor recommends the cultiVa-
ton Of flowers in marshy districts and
in all places infested with animal ema-
nations, on account of the powerful OK
idizing influences of ozone. The in
habitants of such regions should, he
says, surround their houses with beds
of the most odorous flowers. There Is
q mystery about perfume. 1t eludes
the most subtle analysis. So fine, so
subtle, so imponderable, it has eluded
our most delicate measures and our
strongest lenses. If we could come to
the essence of each odor we would
make an enormous stride in hygiene
and in chemistry, and no profession
would profit so much by it as the med
ical profession if it could be conclusive
" demonstrated that such an odOr pro-
ceeded from such and such a cause, as
we already know of sulphur, ,sulphurate-
hydrogen, ammonia, and the like
TJ1CliI35GDOhs Journal.