30 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 



was no gcnnination at this date. The dish was then placed 

 in the hght and in two days one seed, and in a week all the 

 seeds, had germinated. 



November 5 the achenes were carefully washed out of the 

 pulp of some more fruits and thirty-three placed as above on 

 filter paper in each of two dishes, one dish being placed in the 

 dark as before. November 12 twelve of the seeds in the 

 light showed germination while all thirty-three had germi- 

 nated by the IGth (plate 9), On the 21st none of the seeds in 

 the dark showing any signs of gerrhination ten were trans- 

 ferred to the light to test whether they were still alive. In 

 twenty-four hours one germinated, three days later five 

 others split their seed coats, while eight days after the transfer 

 to the light all had germinated* Five more seeds transferred 

 to the light December 7 had begun to germinate by the 13th. 

 Five more were transferred to the light December 21. On 

 returning January 2 after a few days' absence they were all 

 found to have germinated. January 7 none of the thirteen 

 seeds still remaining in the dark had germinated. The whole 

 dish was accordingly transferred to the light. The seeds, 

 .unfortunately, were allowed to dry out about January 1 and 

 again January 12. On January 17th three seeds showed 

 germination w^hile in two or three others the soed-coats 

 WTre beginning to split, showing that while the vitality had 

 been apparently somewhat reduced the seeds were still 

 capable of responding to the stimulus afforded by the 

 light. By January 20 all the remaining seeds had germi- 

 nated. 



In a third experiment the achenes were washed free from 

 mpty galls and pulp and poured in water upon the surface 

 of the soil in three pots, two being kept in a dark cupboard 

 and one on a porch exposed to the sun in the early morning. 

 In the latter, the seeds germinated in nine days while in the 

 dark there was no germination in one pot after more than sixty 

 days. After twenty-seven days the other pot was placed on 

 the porch and germination was first noticed in thirteen days. 

 In watering, the achenes had hovn partly covered with a thin 

 layer of soil which perhaps explains why the germination 

 was delayed until thirteen days had elapsed. 



o 



