﻿THE GERMINATION OF HYDRASTIS CANADENSIS. 



89 



On February 12, 1907, the pots were removed from the box 

 and the seeds were counted, the fact whether they had 

 germinated or remained unchanged, externally at least, or 

 had decayed, being noted. The results obtained are shown 

 in the accompanying table (B) and diagram (I). In the 

 latter, the ordinate gives the number of seeds and the_ ab- 

 scissa the number of inches below the surface of the soil at 

 which the seed lay. The number of seeds germinated is 

 shown by a full line; the number germinated or in good con- 

 dition at the end of the experiment, by a dotted line; and 

 the total number decayed or unaccounted for, by a broken 



^^^It will be noted that of the seeds placed 1 inch below the 

 surface but 2 germinated and but 6 decayed seeds were 

 found, 17 remaining unaccounted for. It may be assumed 

 that in the case of the latter, decay had progressed so far as 

 to make them unrecognizable. 



In the case of the second pot, in which the seed had re- 

 mained 2 inches below the surface of the mulch, 10 seeds had 

 germinated, one was found not to have germinated but to be 

 still in good condition, while 12 were found to be decayed and 

 2 were unaccounted for. 



Where the seed had been buried 3 inches below the surface, 

 12 seeds were found to have germinated, 8 were decayed and 

 5 unaccounted for. 



In the next pot but 6 seeds had germinated, 3 were found to 

 have remained apparently unchanged, while 16 were found to 



have decayed. , . , u i 



The pot in which the seed had been placed 5 inches below 

 the surface, showed that 14 had germinated. Seven decay- 

 ing seeds were found, no trace of the other four remaining. 



In the sixth pot 8 seeds were found to have germinated, 1 

 having remained unchanged, 10 being decayed and 6 unac- 

 counted for. 



The conditions met with in the fifth pot were again en- 

 countered in the seventh pot, with the exception that all de- 

 cayed seeds could be counted. 



The last pot yielded 8 germinating seeds and 13 decayed 

 ones, 4 being unaccounted for. 



