Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose, His Life and Speeches Part 14

--_Amrita Bazar Patrika_, 7-1-1918.

VISUALISATION OF GROWTH

Sir J. C. Bose delivered on the 18th January 1918, at the Bose Inst.i.tute, the second of the series of discourses on revelations of plant life. This time the audience had the opportunity of witnessing the working of Bose's newly perfected Crescograph which is undoubtedly one of the marvels in modern Science. For this apparatus gives a visual demonstration of movements which are far beyond the highest powers of microscope. The invisible internal workings of life are thus for the first time revealed to man.

LAW VERSUS CAPRICE

The lecturer first described the infinite variations in life reactions in plants. The same external stimulus, he said apparently produces one effect in one plant; and precisely opposite in another. Some leaves move towards light; others are repelled by it. The root bends towards the centre of the earth, the shoot rises above away from it. Numerous other "tropic" movements are caused by contact, by electricity, by moisture and by invisible radiations. These effects appear so extremely diverse and capricious that some of the leading physiologists were forced to come to the conclusion that there was no law guiding such movement, but that the plant decides for itself what should be the effect of external conditions on it.

RECORD OF GROWTH

Most of these tropic movements are brought about by changes induced in growth by the action of different forces. But growth is so excessively slow that slight changes induced in it is impossible of detection. The proverbially slow paced snail moves two thousand times faster than the growing point of a plant. Hence to visualise growth and its changes, apparatus has to be invented which would magnify growth something like a million times. If such a thing were possible the pace of the snail would be quickened to the speed of a rifle bullet. The difficulties in connection with the devising and construction of apparatus with this extraordinary power appeared at first an impossibility. The Jewels for the fittings of the apparatus could not be found fine enough. The lecturer had to discard ordinary jewels for diamonds, such bearings being only made in Germany. But the outbreak of the war put an end to this source of supply. He had then to turn to resources available in India.

ADVANCE OF AGRICULTURE

The invention of method for immediate record of growth and its variations under various conditions is one of immense practical importance. Experiments on gigantic scales are in progress all over the world for this purpose. At Rothamstead, this work has been going on for more than half a century. The great Department of Agriculture in Mas.h.i.+ngton spends millions every year on such experiments, there being a thousand men employed in research. Recently many experiments have been undertaken on the effect of electricity on growth. The results obtained have been mostly contradictory. For real advance in agriculture we must first discover the laws of growth. Ordinary experiments on growth are of little value because they take weeks for detecting changes of growth which might have been brought about by charges in the environment. The only satisfactory method is to devise an apparatus which would make the plant itself record the rate of its growth, and the changes induced by food or treatment in the course of less than a minute, during which short time it is possible to maintain external conditions constant.

THE MAGNETIC CRESCOGRAPH

All the difficulties connected with the devising of apparatus has been completely removed by the lecturer's successful invention of his new magnetic crescograph in which practically unlimited magnification is obtained without the difficulties arising from the unavoidable friction of bearings. Magnetic forces are so exactly balanced that a disturbance in the balance caused by slightest movements such as that of growth is magnified ten millions of times. The application of this new principle will be of great importance in various investigations in Physics.

Sir J. C. Bose next demonstrated some marvellous results obtained with his apparatus. A seedling which on account of the Winter season appeared stationary jotted down by taps on a moving plate, the rate of its growth. The application of a chemical instantly arrested this growth, but an antidote timely applied, not only removed the torpor but enhanced the growth at an enormous rate. The life of the plant became pliant at the will of the experimenter, and nothing appeared more marvellous than the realisation that man has the power to pierce the veil that shrouds the mystery that had hitherto baffled him.

The lecturer explained how the effect of a given agent--a chemical solution or an electric current--is profoundly modified by the dose a given intensity, producing one effect and a different intensity giving rise to an effect diametrically opposite. This is the reason of the inexplicable anomalies which have baffled many investigators. Numerous are the forces which act on growth some helping, others r.e.t.a.r.ding, the effects being further modified by the strength and duration of application. These factors that determine growth are each to be studied in detail, and the laws of effect of each to be discovered. There can be no real advance in scientific agriculture until this is done.

--_Amrita Bazar Patrika_, 19-1-1918.

SIR J. C. BOSE AT BOMBAY.

There was a brilliant gathering at the Royal Opera House on Tuesday the 22nd January 1918, when Sir Jagadis Bose gave a deeply interesting lecture on the history of the inception of his Inst.i.tute in Calcutta and its aims together with an exposition of his scientific researches ill.u.s.trated by lantern slides. The theatre was full long before the lecture commenced and several prominent people were present the bulk of the audience consisting of Indians.

Mr. Tilak in introducing the distinguished lecturer to the audience referred to Professor Bose's lasting services not only to the Indian nation but to the whole world. These references to Dr. Bose and his work elicited frequent applause from the large audience.

A FIFTY THOUSAND RUPEES LECTURE.

Sir Jagadis, who was accorded a most enthusiastic ovation on rising to address the gathering, acknowledged his grat.i.tude to the public of Bombay who proved their appreciation of his work by their presence there that evening, and the fact that they had subscribed Rs. 50,000 for the occasion. He then gave a brief explanatory account of the nature and scope of his work, which he had planned and carried out alone for many years amidst many and varied difficulties. He gave an exposition by the aid of one of the delicate instruments of his own invention of how plants respond to various sounds and tunes and the beautiful colour display which was observed in this connection appeared as though he were a magician with a wand.

PLANTS UNDER ANAESTHETICS

The Doctor explained the meaning and significance of the thunderbolt which has been adopted as the symbol of the inst.i.tution. He explained also the special uses to which the various parts of the buildings would be put. The fact was brought out that the entire building and grounds had been designed to suit the special needs of the Inst.i.tute and care had been taken to make it as far as possible self contained. An interesting feature of the garden close to that portion which forms the residence of Sir Jagadis was the open platform perched above two trees, transplanted under anaesthetic conditions. A variety of apparatus is displayed under these trees and the platform is intended for observation or meditation or both. Dr. Bose here explained how trees when transplanted frequently died under the shock of the operation just as human being sometimes died, not from an operation but from the shock caused thereby. Similarly he had discovered and proved that trees could, like human beings, go through severe operations and survive the shock, if placed under the influence of an anaesthetic.

SOME PHENOMENA OF PLANT LIFE

The Professor explained next other experiments which he had performed on plants and whose results had exhibited the close parallel which plant life bears to human life. With the aid of another delicate instrument he showed how the growth of plants can be influenced by drugs and the demonstration on the screen of the manner in which the slow growth of a plant can be thus expedited was one of extraordinary interest. One was able to see the flame of life moving up the screen and recording at intervals the stages of growth, a lengthening of the intervals between each recorded glow ill.u.s.trating the acceleration of growth as soon as the drug was applied. The instruments necessary to record this phenomenon are of extraordinary delicacy, and barely survived the strain of the journey from Calcutta.

ELECTRICITY AND AGRICULTURE

The last experiment was in regard to the effect of electricity on plant life. He referred particularly to the fact that it was his aim to discover the law of growth and atrophy among plants. Such a discovery had a great bearing on the future of agriculture and would revolutionise world thought. Electricity, he explained and ill.u.s.trated, would promote or r.e.t.a.r.d the growth of life by reaction. In England and other countries electricity had been applied to agriculture but without exact knowledge of its varying effect on plant life. He then showed by another apparatus of extreme delicacy that electricity might r.e.t.a.r.d and even repel as well as promote the growth of plant life. But if the law of growth and decay could be ascertained, it was possible to regulate the control of life under most varied conditions.

--_Amrita Bazar Patrika_, 29-1-1918.

UNITY OF LIFE

Under the auspices of the Bombay University, Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose delivered on Thursday, the 31st January 1918, a lecture on the "Unity of Life." It was ill.u.s.trated by lantern slides and an instructive exposition was given of some of his unique discoveries in the realm of Plant Life....

HIDDEN HISTORY IN PLANTS LIFE

"The subject of my address to-night is the 'Unity of Life.' Under a placid exterior there is a hidden history on the life of the plant. Is it possible to make the plants write down their own autographs and thus reveal their history? In order to succeed in this we have first to discover some compulsive force which will make the plant give an answering signal, secondly, we have to invent some instrument of extreme delicacy for the automatic conversion of these signals into an intelligent script; and last of all, we have ourselves to learn the nature of the hieroglyphics."

Sir J. C. Bose then explained the principle of his epoch-making Resonant Recorder which writes down the perception period of the plant within a thousandth part of a second, and writes down the action of light and warmth and drugs on the plant; the effect of vitiated air, of pa.s.sing clouds, of excess of food and of drink.

"The plant is very human in its virtues and weakness. Plants like animals become exalted, grow tired or despond. An easy green-house life makes them less than themselves, overgrown and flabby, capable of response, till they have become hardened by adversity to a fuller existence. A time comes when after an answer to a supreme shock, there is a sudden end of the plant's power to give any further response. This supreme shock is the shock of death. Even in this crisis there is no immediate change in the placid appearance of the plant. Drooping and withering are events that occur long after death itself. How does the plant then give its last answer? In man at the critical moment a spasm pa.s.ses through the whole body and similarly in the plant I find a great contractile spasm takes place. This is accompanied by an electrical spasm also. In the script of the Death Recorder the line that up to this time was being drawn, become suddenly reversed and then ends. This is the last answer of the plant.

"These our mute companions, silently growing beside our door, have now told us the tale of their life-tremulousness and their death-spasm in script that is as inarticulate as they. May it not be said that this story has a pathos of its own beyond any that we may have conceived?

"We have now before our mind's eye the whole organism of the perceiving, throbbing and responding plant, a complex unity and not a congeries of unrelated parts. The barriers which separated kindred phenomena in the plant and animal are now thrown down. Thus community throughout the great ocean of life is seen to outweigh apparent dissimilarity Diversity is swallowed up in unity.

"In realising this, is our sense of final mystery of things deepened or lessened? Is our sense of wonder diminished when we realise in the infinite expanse of life that is silent and voiceless the foreshadowings of more wonderful complexities? Is it not rather that science evokes in us a deeper sense of awe? Does not each of her new advances gain for us a step in that stairway of rock which all must climb who desire to look from the mountain tops of the spirit upon the promised land of truth?"

Sir Jagadis then gave a most interesting exposition of his researches with the aid of magic lantern slides.

SENSITIVENESS IN PLANTS

Referring first of all his discovery of sensitiveness in plants, he said that in that respect they were akin to the human system. He ill.u.s.trated this truth by a demonstration of the reaction that takes place in the frog when a shock is communicated and side by side presenting the reaction that is similarly effected in the plant. "Plants have a nervous system like our own," he said, and with the aid of an enlarged ill.u.s.tration of the mimosa he showed the changes that took place when the plant was disturbed. Turning to plant autograph, he spoke of the Resonant Recorder, a special apparatus which he has invented to prove how even plants are tuned to environment. Certain tunes had no effect on plants, he said, while others had and he asked them specially to observe the beautiful and variegated colour formation produced by their response to tunes. He gave an interesting experiment on this point, and both Lord and Lady Willingdon tried it. There was a great outburst of cheering, which was renewed each time the effect was produced, and it was noticed that the cheering, which was vociferous had its own effect. It had taken him a long time, he said, to produce and perfect the complete apparatus to determine the latent mimosa and by the aid of that apparatus, he was able to record the movement of the plant to one thousandth of a second.

He next went on to say that all plants were endowed like ourselves, but at first the news was received with great scepticism. He did not despair, however, of success and was continuously engaged in discovering, in collecting fresh evidence. Thanks to the action of the Government of India in sending him on a world tour, he got at last the opportunity to prove before the scientific societies of the world, the truth of his discoveries. An ill.u.s.tration of the Mimosa which has accompanied him in his world tour was screened.