The special difficulty which he had to contend against lay in the fact
that the only time during which the plant flourished at all in the West,
was in the months of July and August, when the Universities and
scientific societies were in vacation. The only thing left was to take
the bold step of carrying growing plants from India and trust to human
ingenuity to keep them alive during the journey. Four plants, two
Mimosas and two Telegraph plants, were taken in a portable box with
glass cover, and never let out of sight. In the Mediterranean they
encountered bitter cold for the first time and nearly succumbed. They
were unhappier still in the Bay of Biscay, and when they reached London
there was a sharp frost. They had to be kept in a drawing room lighted
by gas, the deadly influence of which was discovered the next morning
when all the plants were found to be apparently killed. Two had been
killed, and the other two were brought round after much difficulty. The
plants were at once transferred to the hot-house in Regents Park. For
every demonstration in Dr. Bose's private Laboratory at Maida Vale, the
plant had to be brought and returned in a taxicab with closed doors so
that no sudden chill might kill them. When travelling, the large box in
which they were, could not be trusted out of sight in the luggage van.
They had practically to be carried in a reserved compartment. The
unusual care taken of the box always roused the greatest curiosity, and
in an incredibly short time large crowds would gather. When travelling
long distances, for example from London to Vienna, the carriage
accommodation had to be secured in advance. It was this that saved Dr.
Bose from being interned in Germany, where he was to commence his
lectures on the 4th August. He was to start for the University of Bonn
on the 2nd, but on account of hasty mobilisation of troops in Germany he
could not secure the reserved accommodation. Two days after came the
proclamation of War!