The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-08-11
THEHASKINLETTER
HOUSING THE DIPLOMATS
BY FREDERICK J. HAsKEN.


WASHINGTON, Aug. IA radish
was recently raised at the Arlington
experimental farm of the department OF
agriculture which promises and deserves
to become famous. II was a most re-
markahle looking radish. Instead of be-
ing a little thing the size of a marble
with an Insignificant tuft of leaves, like
most radishes, this one grew to be four
inches in diameter and had a crown
of leaves nearly yard wide. And at
have its picture taken, 1t was still
growing and gave every promise of be-
coming as big as a mans head. This
radish never went to seed" at all; in
stead 1t devoted all of its energies to
growing, with the above remarkable re-
suit.
II such a giant radish had been a
mere unaccountable freak it would have
attracted wide attention. But 1t was
no freak. The two scientists who
Alard, know exactly why it grew SO
big and failed to produce any seed. They
have discovered what amounts to a new
biological principle, and by working on
this principle they can control the
growth Of plants in a most amazing
way. They have substantially extended
mans control over nature, for in eff
feet they are able to direct the energies
of plants, turning them from their nat
ural course.
any other root crop such as turnip or
a sugar beet, forego the natural process
OF reproduction and spend its time and
energy growing large instead but in the
case Of a plant where the seed is the
desirable thing, such as bean vine for
example, they can reverse the process
and make the plant produce beans in
profusion, and almost no foliage at all
To get to the gist of the thing, these
scientists have discovered that the fac
fnr y1hi oh ont hn fiXYn or
tivity Of plants is the length of the day.
In other words each variety of plant,
in the course of evolution has become
accustomed to performing the work of
pollination and Of bearing its fruit or
seed at a time of the year when the
day is of a certain length, and will not
do the work when the day Is either
shorter or longer.
You, will Immediately reflect that this
Is not remarkable. The plant would
naturally require a certain amount of
light and heat to perform these func
tions, and would choose the time Of
year when the average of days yielded
them just that amount of light and heat.
This same reflection was made by
botanists long ago, and for half CEN
fury they have been experimenting in
the control of the amount of light and
heat given to plants without getting
any very definite or useful results, What
Allard and Garner have discovered Is
that neither the amount of light nor
the amount of heat is the decisive fac
tor, but simply the daily duration of
light to which the plant is exposed.
For example, a certain plant naturally
produces its seeds in early fall when
the day is of certain length. BY use
Of electric lights the scientists lengthen
the plants daily exposure to light at
this season by couple of hours, and
the plant goes right on growing without
producing seed, although the electric
light is not of the same quality as sun
light, nor does the electricity give the
same amount of heat as the sun, The
thing can be expressed unscientifically
but effectively by saying that the plant
is fooled into the belief that 10 e. still
summer, that the proper season for 60
ing to seed has not arrived, and there
fore it does not go to seed.
BY using dark rooms, the scientists
reverse this process. They plant their
experimental plants in boxes which are
set on wheels running on little rail-
roads, so that the plants can be rolled
into the dark room and out again when
ever desired. In midsummer, by put
ting the plant to bed early, 1t is ex-
posed to the same duration of light as
it would normally experience in early
fall. And, 10 and behold, the plant
thinks 1t Is early fall, and forthwith
quits growing and produces seed.
1t is, Of course, highly unscientific