FIFTY YEARS OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY IN AUSTRIA

Plant physiology in Austria took a powerful upturn after the year 1873, the year in which JULIUS WIESNER brought into existence the first (not only in Austria, but anywhere) plant physiological Institut. It was the period in which this science under the three great stars, WIESNER, SACHS, and PFEFFER made great and decisive strides forward. It is understandable that very soon a host of enthusiastic young men gathered around the great teacher; and so it is no wonder that there went forth from this school many men who in subsequent years occupied professional chairs in the Austrian universities. Among the plant physiologists are mentioned the following: A. BURGERSTEIN (Wien), J. CZAPEK (Prag), W. FIGDOR (Wien), V. GRAFE (Wien), G. HABERLANDT (Berlin), K. LINSBAUER (Graz), and H. MOLISCH (Wien). The situation was changred by the World War. The Austria of today, as those from foreign lands know it, has now only the universities of Vienna, Graz, and Innsbruck, which will be considered in this paper. It is characteristic of JULIUS WIESNER that he was no specialist; the field of research in which he worked was many sided. Notwithstanding, there were a few main problems which occupied him through many years: Chlorophyll formation; the relation of the plant to light, which led to his photometric investigations and to the development of his concept of Lichtgenuss, which was of importance in ecological research; the causes of orientation of plant organs (anisomorphy, exotrophy, anisophylly), to mention only a few. WIESNER liked to put his experiences to the service of practical needs. Best known is his great work "Die Rohstoffe des Pflanzenreiches"; less well known is the essential service which he rendered to the sugar industry when he introduced the dialysis procedure which has been used ever since. There is a peculiar charm to be seen in the fact that WIESNER also had an interest in the more general scientific problems, and gave expression to his thoughts concerning them. In one of his most important and funda1 Translated fromii the original Germl-aln by Dr. Frank M. Andrews, Indiana University. 565