Evening Star Newspaper, January 16, 1930, Page 40

C—8 TONATOES GROWN WTHOUT EARTH Smithsonian Experiment Af- fords Glimpse of Agricul- ture of Distant Future. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Big red tomatoes ready for the table have been grown entirely without soil. Ripe vegetables produced in the labora- tory, perhaps affording a initial glimpse of the synthetic agriculture of a distant future, when man will not depend on the vagaries of Mother Earth for food, have resulted from the pre- liminary work of a division established at the Smithsonian Institution to study the obscure and complicated relations between living things and light. Extraordinarily delicate instruments are being set up to study some of the most subtle processes of the mechanics of life itself. tomato plants were literally hatched in an incubator. The seeds were first sprouted between two sheets of moist blotting paper kept at a con- stant temperature. When root growth started, the tiny plants were inserted in cork stoppers, through which holes had been bored approximately the size of a full-grown tomato’ stem. They ‘were so placed that all the root systein was suspended below the cork, while the sprout peered through on the other side. The seedlings were held in place in the corks by loose cotton packing. Roots Immersed in Solution. ‘The corks were then placed in two- quart jars so that the roots were im- mersed in a solution of calcium nitrate, magnesium sulphate and monopotas- sium phosphate, which is approximately the mixture ordinary plants derive from the soil. The plant, which feeds through its roots, can take nothing from the soil except in solution, it was explained by Dr. Earl S. Johnston, Smithsonian associate. In the labora- tory it does not have to depend on the elements, such as rain and .sunshine, to_prepare the solution from the chemi- cal constituents of the soil. It has a constant and plentiful supply ready to eat at all times. The next step is to place the jars in a constant temperature chamber, te the light supply, and watch the plants grow. The second is the im- portant step in the Smithsoniah pro- gram. For life on earth directly dependent on three things—the food which it devours and transforms in part into its own substance, the atmos- phere it breathes and the light radia- tion which makes possible the obscure complex of chemical and physical re- actions known as the process of living. Now from the beginning this process in sunlight or close approximations of sunlight. Life has umua itself to the fairly constant combination of wave lengths of light, from red to violet, which make ugl solar . In most previous studies of plant and animal behavior the solar spectrum has simply been taken for granted. Plan to Produce Measurements. Profound effects on the life process might be expected from splitting up thfm:rectrum and giving plant and ani organisms different mixtures of wave lengths or subjecting them en- tirely to light from one color range of the spectrum. The Smithsonian work- ers, under the direction of Dr. Charles G. Abbot, secretary of the institution, plan to produce and make exact meas- urements of these effects. ‘The tomatoes were grown in ordinary “white light,” but the solution-filled jars were constantly rotated on revolv- ing platforms in a chamber with re- flecting walls, so that all parts of the plants would have constantly uniform radiation conditions, Later the same experiments will be conducted in sim- lar reflecting chambers with different combinations of light. One of the first light effects being studied is the curious phenomenon known as phototropism, the innate tendency of plants to lean toward the sun in their growth. In some plants, such as sunflowers, whose blooms follow roughly the course of the sun through- out the day, this is so conspicuous as to suggest deliberative behavior. The explanation generally accepted, it was explained by Dr. Johnston, ex- THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON. D. C, THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 1930. plains the phenomenon by the different degrees of growth stimulation afforded by different combinations of light. The 'l'lglgk" side of the p‘hgxc ud\'eeotvlnnrn t combination with undue propor- tions of red and infra-red radiation which tends to stimulate the growth of the cells on that side. The side turned toward the Yight is receiving much more of the blue and violet radiation, which | tend to retard growth. The cells on the “light” side grow slower and smaller, with the result that the plant is bent over in that direction. Reac¢ts to Shorter Light Waves. tering Now it might be concluded that the iare registered phenomenon was due simply to the fact that one side received less light than the other, regardless of the nature of the radiation. The Smithsonian studies show that this is not true. If a plant leaned only in the direction of the greatest intensity of light, regardless of quality, it would be expected to grow straight if radiation of equal intensity was directed at both sides, producing a pull of equal strength in each direc- tion. This is not the case. When one side is placed in the path of red radia- tion of exactly equal intensity to a green or blue coming from the opposite direction, it still leans away from the red, It cannot escape reacting to the retarding effects of the shorter light waves. g ‘The effects of the pull of different light combinations are being studied with extraordinarily delicate mecha- JUICY AND SWEET IFYOUCAN'T COME TO FLORIDA THIS WINTER vniie WBEST FLORIDA COME TO YOU FLORIDA ORANGES -AND GRAPEFRUIT For Health Drink Orange HOUSE SSOCIATIOS and Grapefruit Julce I know about nice women’ ISTEN to a doctor whose practice in- cludes hundreds of the betterclass. “It is simply unbelievable,” he says, “how many women—supposedly nice, fastidious women—are halitosis and utterly ignorant of the fact. No wonder their tate to kiss them, or that women friends avoid them.” Don’t fool yourself Be the first to suspect yourself of having halitosis (bad breath). So many everyday conditions cause it that it'is folly for any one to assume com- plete freedom from it. De- fective teeth for example. suffering from husbands hesi- Fermenting food particles. Germ infections of the mouth. yourself on the popular side by gargling with full strength Listerine morning and night, and before meeting others. Lister- ine instantly ends halitosis. Pyorrhea. Keep Destroys odors—kills germs Being a safe germicide so active it kills even Staphylococcus Aureus (pus) and Bacillus Typhosus (typhoid)’ germs in 15 seconds, it naturally combats germ conditions which cause Keep Cool, Men Yourfacekept cool while shaving and afterward. Listering Sxavine Cream is a treat for all men. odors. powerful deodorant, destroys the odors them- selves. & Then, being a it Send for our free Book of Etiquette. Dept. H 3, Lambert Pharmacal Co., St. Louis, Mo. Halitosis spares nobody . . end it with LISTERINE The Safe Antiseptic nisms h will t the slightest 1 detect lllh Since plant behavior may be affected by slight variations in light wave ations, it has been neces- sary to set up extremely sensitive ap- paratus for the detection of such varia- tions. Ordinarily the structure of light is determined by photographing it through a spectroscope, a method which has led to some of the most remark- able developments in modern science enabling astronomers to determine the elemeng of distant stars and the struc- ture of atoms. The color elements en- int6 any light ¥ave combinations by the varying density of the silver on specially prepared pho- ing due to the silver of the silver bro- mide plate is not sufficiently accurate Fapnic. phate® ih Aliing. upon <& ence fal upon ‘& thermocouple, . another of modern sci- ence’s most delicate instruments, by which it has been possible to measure the exact temperature of planets mil- lions of miles away in space almost as accurately as would be possible with a thermometer placed on the planet it- self. The thenndcuurle is simply a junction of two rare elements so sensi- tive that any change in the heat falling upon the juncture point sets up a meas- urable electric current. So, in the instrument set up by Dr. for the Sinl'-hmilg experimenters. So | inf during exposure, aff the thermo- c%fi}“?“c’fi' '% T m?x’r' e P nsity of the silver is re- extremely narrow lim- by the record on & movin kept in operation in the motion of the plate being analyzed. Thus two of the most delicate instru- ments known to sclence have been com- bined in this effort to pry into the in- nermost secrets of the strange phenom- enon of “living.” But Dr. Brackett is,going even fur- ther than this in setting up an instru- ment by which the photographic plate will be disperised with altogether and the light intensity as it comes through drum | tremely short measure light waves entering into any combination to which any photographic plate yet devised is insensitive. The silver-bromide plate is sensitive to the entire trum from the ex- visible X-rays down g:‘réml: all mfi ranges of :m':lew!lllzm. photography can penetra y & short way into the invisible infra-red at the opposite end of the spectrum. Only within the t year has it been ixm‘me to uekde‘p (;u:grl&l;s at :lhe ex= eme upper edge of the infra-red spec- tmm—tgn is, in total darkness .n"fiir as the human eye is concerned. By Mr. Brackett’s method it will be possible to go nearly 10 times as far. And infra-red radiation probably has a very notable relation to the process of plant life. In this method the light comes to the thermocouple through rock salt instead of glass. F. 8. Brackett of the Smithsonian staff the heat variations of the light passing through different thicknesses of silver which had been piled up by the light Entrance—909 F St. N.W. l2Price Clearance! the spectroscope measured, directly re- corded on a moving drum by a gal- vanometer attached to the thermocou- ple. This will enable him to detect and tographic plates, due to the rearrange- ment of the paricles by different wave lengths of light falling upon them. But visual estimation of the darken~ Quality That Endures Quality That Endures. : PO i A e .-:y./o--‘F 58 T AT m/ ), ol oy | e s A : $39.50 Mahogai.y WALL DESK $19.75 udL_uu size, with drawer and drvp vvovs ol | $300 Mahogany D Bed Room Suite, Very Special Of selected mahogany. 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