Show CHEMICALS LIGHTS AND RAYS HELP PLANT GROWTH mature in half of normal nomal time in experiments conducted by botanists st louis plant life was aa speeded up tip and literally turned topsy in a little experimental garden gaiden liere here when 11 student indent botanists ronde made plants grow u upside down and mature in half the normal time with tile the aid ot of chemicals ul ultra vio let rays ras incandescent electric lights and X rays ras plants ft were ere made to lose their sense 0 of gravity and sprout their roots above the ground others grew during the night under the treatment of the students the ultraviolet ultra violet ray treatments were milde made by the uld ot of aluminum screens screen la which shielded the plants from the short shorter erand and injurious rays the anys were most effective when administered gradually the gradual idest aos of light begon began wath a half minute exposure and and increased in length from toy doy to day one group of plants exposed for nine minutes dully from time showed the less growth than those given ghen gradually increasing light under this ultraviolet ultra violet trent treatment ment tu mato and cucumber plants grew a third higher than under normal conditions while cotton plants matured in half tile the nornal time under a treatment of continuous light tomato plants given the lie roy treatment grew 32 inches while plants otherwise under tinder the same greenhouse conditions grew only 20 inches the cotton experiment also included tho the regul regulation atlon of in 22 weeks cotton raised under a ta temperature pera ture of 00 degrees readied reached a height of 34 inches for the continuous 11 1 alit while the same plant without artificial but ahli an average temperature of 80 degrees grew on only y 11 inches tn clies cotton gr brewing 01 ing under nor normal m at conditions in temperature 0 of SO 90 degrees grew 10 incle in treating seeds with tha a student u dent in some soine cases found tile the roots growing above the surface while the stem of the plant grew downward it Is believed that eliat the chemical injured tile the seed near the root cap the belief that the xray X ray roy nets acts selectively upon fust growing IL led d the students to experiment with these ra ys using mustard sved sped but removing the soft rays the growth of the beed was retarded it Is believed tillet tile removal of these soft rays injured tile seed |