Evening star., 1928-04-24

more carbohydrates-after about lie
hours OF continuous illumination.
The blosSoming of plants depends on
or artificial Lettuce and radishes will
not flower until they have had more
than IL hours of light. The saliva or
scarlet sage, which makes so brilliant a
show In Washington parks during. the
Summer, demands Q l5-hour day.
But the poor, plebeian buckwheat, q
yeritable Cinderella of the plant world
when 1t finally emerges In the form Of
sirup-covered hapjackS, is not given 10
tantrums and Is obedient and patient.
1t win flower with any length Of day
light from 5 TO "a hours.
Tiny plants build the mighty noun
tains
Aeon after aeon the countless trillionS
OF those diminutive mason chemists. the
algae, secrete lime from the oceans and
transform II into rock, the rock piles
up into Islands, the seas recede and the
islands become towering peaks.
This process was described today by
DR.. Marshall A. Howe. assistant director
Of the New York Botanical Garden.
The credit for activity OF this kind.
he said, In the past has gone largely 10
the corals. which are minute, lime
secFeting animals. Borings in some Of
the coral" islands. however. have
shown that the bulk Of the work was
done BY the plants rather than the ami
maiG
Built Up Limestone.
The late DR.. Charles D. Walcott. Sec
retary Of the Smithsonian Institution.
he said, had found that algae-like Or
ganiSnG had built up the limestone
~Lm - La nf tzn akrsg
Mountains, which date from the Cam
brian period, when the first traces OF
life appeared on earth. There Is eW-
dence, however. that even before this
the little seaweeds were busy transform
ing the face Of the earth and preparing
1t for the birds and mammals
They are aa busy today as ever, DR..
Howe said, and he showed slides OF re-
cent rock concretions produced by blue
green aIgae In Green Lake, near syra-
cslse, n. Y, and Little Conektoga Greek,
Lancaster County, Pa.
Mutations that is, transmissible
physical variations from the parents
In offspring, which is one Of the key
stones Of the doctrine OF the produc-
ton OF species by eyolution--can be
produced by treating with X-rays the
chromosomes Of the parents. IL. J.
Muller OF the University OF Texas told
the academy.
DR.. Muller described the results OF
experiments conducted with the fruit
flies. the customary subjects Of getietic
experiments because OF the rapidity
with which successive generations are
produced in the laboratory. Not only
have striking color mutations been Sc
cured by X-ray treatment, DR.. Muller
said. but are more numerous and more
stable than would occur normally.
That Ia, the new lines OF fruit flies
show Less tendency 20 revert back 70
the original parent types In successive
generations,
Crossing Of Dogs.
The remarkable results Of cross be-
tween a 81. Bernard and a Great Dane
dog, illustrating the close and still
obscure connection between the en-
docrins glands and sex and physical
growth, we're described by Charles II.
6t0ckard Of Cornell University MecicaI
College,
Male pups were produced which re.
yealeo, upon autopsy, all the lnt&fnat
sex organs Of females well developed.
due 70 an endocrine gland compliea-
tim.
The Cornell experimenteTs proceeded
on the assumption that the physical
peculiarities 0f certain breeds of c0gs,
such as the massive, distorted head and
wide~spFeah short legs Of the bulldog,
are due 10 hereditary dsFangsd con
6jtion of the glands whose secTetioTlE
seem 10 be among the governing factors
NJ growth,