XI. On the causes and phenomena of the repulsion of water from the feathers of water-fowl and the leaves of plants

Happening to reside in Bombay, in the neighbourhood of a number of small tanks or ponds abounding with the Lotus or sacred bean of India, and with four different varieties of Water Lily, I was struck with the different appearances presented by these when immersed in water, or when water was sprinkled on them. The leaves of the lily, like those of the Lotus, floated with considerable buoyancy on the surface, but never, like the Lotus, rose above it, on a tall independent stem.