Fig. 2. Apparatus for automatic record of movement of trees and plants; T, differential metallic thermometer; R, recording lever for temperature; R′, for recording plant movement; C, clock-work for oscillation of recording plate. The same clock-work moves plate laterally in 24 hours.
A difficulty arose at the beginning in obtaining sanction of the proprietor to attach the recorder to the tree. He was apprehensive that its miraculous power might disappear by profane contact with foreign-looking instruments. His misgivings were removed on the assurance that the instrument was made in my laboratory in India, and that it would be attached to the tree by one of my assistants, who was the son of a priest.
From results of observation it is found that the tree moves through its entire length; the fall of the highest point of the trunk is one metre. The movement is not passive, but an active force is exerted; the force necessary to counteract this movement is equivalent to the weight of 47 kilograms: in other words, the force is sufficient to lift a man off the ground. But far greater force would be required to restrain the change of curvature of the neck of the hard and rigid tree.
Fig. 3. Record of diurnal movement of the ‘Praying’ Palm (Phœnix dactylifera). Thermographic curve for 24 hours commencing at 9 in the evening is given in the upper record; the corresponding diurnal curve of movement of the tree is given in the lower. Successive dots at intervals of 15 minutes; thick dots at intervals of an hour.
Before entering into the investigation of the cause of periodic movement I shall give a general account of its characteristics. A casual observation would lead one to conclude that the tree lifted itself at sunrise and prostrated at sunset. But continuous record obtained with my recorder attached to the upper part of the trunk shows that the tree was never at rest, but in a state of continuous movement, which underwent periodic reversals (Fig. 3). The tree attained its maximum erection at 7 in the morning, after which there is a rapid movement of fall. The down movement reached its maximum at 3-15 P.M., after which it was reversed and the tree erected itself to its greatest height at 7 next morning. This diurnal periodicity was maintained day after day.
UNIVERSALITY OF TREE MOVEMENT.
The next question which I wished to investigate was whether the movement of the particular Faridpur tree was a unique phenomenon. It appeared more likely that similar movement would, under careful observation, be detected in all trees. The particular palm tree was growing at a considerable inclination to the vertical; the movement of the tree and its leaves became easily noticeable, since the ground afforded a fixed and striking object of reference. In a tree growing more or less erect, the movement, if any, would escape notice, since such movements would be executed with only the empty space as the background.