Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-12
FLORAL ANESTHETICS
TO MAKE PLANTS BLOOM BEFORE
THE NORMAL PERIOD.
Results Of the Application of Ether to
the Organs Of Herbs and
Flowers.
From Public Opinion.

From Public Opinion.
To make plants bloom before the normal
blossoming period. or, when this period has
passed, to produce them at the exact mo-
ment one desires them, Is a goal that has
been sought In recent years by the use Of
refrigerating methods, and also by the use
of anesthetics. This latter method we owe.
in its present development, to a Danish
scholar, M. Johannsen, Of the agricultural
school of Copenhagen. M Johannsen
perimented by anesthetiZing the different
organs Of plants, both those organs which
are maturing and those which are in
state of repose. believing that ii would be
impossible by the use of anesthetics to sup
press entirely the phenomena of condensa-
ton in the maturing organs. He found
that a sufficiently large dose Of ether sup
pressed the activity of condensation in the
maturing organs, and ii was also clear that
the plant organs presented. under the ef-
fects of the ether or chloroform, very active
different experiments, he was led to pursue
others, with the view of suspending entirely
the period of repose, or stationary develop
ment, by the use Of anesthetcs.
Ether and Willow.
These experiments are within the reach of
all, since it is merely necessary to place the
branches of the willow under a receptacle.
with dose of four-tenths of a cubic cent?
meter OF ether per cubic decimeter of the
contents of the vessel After twenty-four
hours the branches are taken out placed
in water. and then put in a dollhouse or
other place equally warm. Non-etherized
branches are placed as tests in the same
hothouse. After two days the envelopes of
the buds on the etherized branches ara
raised and the silver catkins appear where
as the non-etheriZed branches remain inert
These experiments succeed from August to
November, after which, the willow leaving
the state Of repose, ether has no accelerat-
ing effect.
hafi half
place altogether early forcing methods now
in use, since the anesthetizing process
makes flowers bloom from July to August
whose normal Towering period takes place
only IN spring. Further, this method makes
possible the Towering of these plants four
or five months earlier than by the ordinary
methods of forcing it shortens by from ff-
teen to twenty days the dura ton of the
forcing period in the first seasons Of Novem-
Der, December and January, and by several
days in the later seasons. and 1t makes all
OF the buds develop and bloom, while If the
plant is treated by the ordinary procedIre
many OF the buds are failures.
Operation on Lilacs.
If the operation be performed on lilacs.
the thursus is developed in ten DAYS and
the blooming is completed in a period of
from i've to eight days. 1t requires ten to
twenty days more for lilacs not etherized to
attain the same degree of advancement, and
further, the vegetation and Towering of
the idtter are generally much more fncom-
plete, because of the falling of large num-
Der of the buds. Thus. not only have we
economy in labor. in fuel and In material
but the series of shrubs succeed each other
more regularly, the forcing may be COM
menced earlier, and at the time the
results are surer and in greater prfection.
The dangers attending the use of ether
in some cases has led to the adoption OF
chloroform, which is used in the same way
as ether, with the exception that smaller
amount is employed, the density of chloro-
form being twice great as that of ether
and its action four times as intense. The
proportion of chloroform per cubic meter
of air is 50 to 100 grams but the exposure
time should be longer.
Exhilarates Vegetation.
The cause of the action of anesthetics on
plants is matter of theory, and may be
due to an acceleration of the order of the
growth, or the phenomenon may be the sus-
pension of an arrest which has occurred in
the natural growth We may easily see
similarity between the anesthetizing OF
plants and human intoxication, for, where
as the latter state may be considered ono
Of weakness. ct the same time 1t exhila-
rates dormant energies. On the other hand.
ether or chloroform may be merely an ex-
citant. The vapors of ether and chloroform
only have inomentary effect, although
they produce extreme stimulation. shorten
the period of repose and inausurats vegs-
tn