The San Francisco call., 1909-07-27
CHANGE
IN PLANT. LIFE
Noted Savant Tells of His
Research in Botanical
Physiology Line

N ECLARING that he can effect and
change the character of a plant
by injecting a solution into it's
cells, DR.. ID. d. MacDougal at a public
lecture at the state university at
Berkeley yesterday made an an
nouncement for the first time of the
preliminary results of a series of in
vestigations in botanical physiology
which are parallel to and promise to
be as far reaching in their effects on
science as the wonderful discoveries
of Prof Jacques Loeb. the eminent in
vestigator of the germ of life.
DR.. MacDougal declared his re-
searches were mainly concerned with
the action of the plant machine itself.
Those of Professor Loeb are directed
at discovering the origin of the cell of
life.
The university botanists are greatly
interested in the discoveries of Dr.
MacDougal and both Prof. w. ]. v.
Osterhout and w. A. Setchell were
present at the lecture, which was at
tended by an audience which taxed the
capacity of the lecture room of the
agricultural building.
Both Professors Setchell and Oster-
hout admitted that DIR. MacDougaPs
Investigations were entirely new and
tTed by a scientist for the first time.
They said that he was progressing
rapidly in his chosen researches, al
though he was beset by difficulties as
aggravating as those which contin-
ually obstructed the path of Professor
Loeb.
According to his brief outline of his
results before an audience yesterday
afternoon DR.. MacDougal declared
that he was a follower of Darwin in
his experiments, which were pointed
toward the discovery of the effect of
heredity and to ascertain if such arti-
fetal effects were of a lasting nature.
For this purpose he injected into the
cells of a desert plant on which he was
working, variety of the cactus, solu-
tion of calcium diluted with $4,000 parts
of water.
showed that IA varieties were different
from the parent plant and possessed dis
tinctive features. In one series of ex-
periments he noted that whereas the
parent plant was rough, the derivative
had a smooth skin and the leaves were
shiny as glass.
He then crossed the derivative with
the parent and found that the plant
produced possessed traces of the parent
and derivative. but was much larger
leaves in greater numbers than either.
His Investigations with solutions of
water 10000 parts to one of iodine
brought about equally marvellous re-
suits. He said that he would continue
to carry on his researches in the ovary
of the cell itself. The conclusions of
his results he announced, would take
many wears and would not be to the
benefit Of the people of the present gen
Grafton.
Continuing his lecture, the speaker
declared that he had established a
laboratory at Carmel by the Sea, where
he will continue to conduct his re-
searches, both as to the effect of hered
ity, as pointed out for the first time by
Darwin. and on his laboratory work
connected with his researches of desert
plants.
For the latter purpose he has brought
up from Tucson several dozen plants
peculiar to a desert soil, and has plant
ed them in plat at Carmel, where he
will watch the effect of the sea shore
conditions on desert vegetation.
Professor Osterhout of the university
faculty, whose own researches in bot
any have made his name famous, said
that Doctor MacDougal was doing a
wonderful work. He declared that he
would not attempt to point out the diff
ference between his work and that of
Professor Loeb, although they were
working along parallel lines
The difference between the work of
the two scientists can be explained this
way he said. Professor Loeb is con-
cerned with the operation of the cell
and its working and mechanism. Doc
tor MacDougal is rather investigating
how the cell operates and what it pro-
duces. To put it in another way, the
university professor is investigating
the internal workings of a machine and
Doctor MacDougal is finding out what
the machine will produce when sub
jected to different conditions"
Doctor MacDougal was formerly con-
nected with the botanical gardens of
New York City, and was formerly
member of the faculty of the Univer-
sity of Minnesota. He is considered one
of the greatest investigators in botani-
cal physiology in the United States.