Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Behavior of Stomata
This investigation was undertaken to discover what changes take place in the apertures Of stomata throughout the day and night, the in?uence Of physical factors upon such changes, and the final effect upon transpiration. Hence the investigation falls naturally into three subdivisions which form the sections Of this volume. As previous investigators have usually worked with few plants and in one region, it was felt that considerable light could be thrown upon the subject by using many plants and working in several regions Of diverse climate. Experiments which were first carried out at the American Smelting and Refining Company's laboratory near Salt Lake City were therefore continued at the Desert Laboratory at Tucson, Arizona, and at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as at Salt Lake City. A wide range Of climate was thus available, since the spring climate Of Minneapolis is rather humid, the summer climate Of Salt Lake City dry and sometimes hot, and the winter in Tucson dry and warm. For a number Of reasons, most Of the experiments were made at the Salt Lake laboratory, where the water-content could be controlled readily and the range of humidity and temperature from day to day was almost as great as in the desert.
At the outset, careful consideration was given the methods hitherto employed to determine changes in stomatal apertures. The horn and yucca hygroscopes used by Darwin (1898) were properly criticized by Lloyd (1908) as measures of transpiration rather than Of the condition Of the stomata. Cobalt-chloride paper is open to the same objection, and therefore only indirectly throws light upon the Opening of the stomata. Petroleum ether, when dropped upon a leaf, passes through it if the stomata are open and some times gives it a water-soaked, translucent appearance. Hence this reagent may'be used as a qualitative test for stomatal opening. These methods, however, are no longer in use, and this left but three methods to be considered for the purpose Of the investigation.
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