OF THE COCOANUT DURING GERMINATION 349 
See also, on the subject of cocoanut pearls, the Proceedings of 
the Boston Society of Natural History, 1861 and 1862; The 
Tropical Agriculturalist, 1887; Nature, 1887. 
4 III. CHANGES IN THE COCOANUT DURING GERMINATION 
The nuts for our studies of the changes occurring during 
germination were obtained fresh, fully developed and with their 
husks still on them, directly from Jamaica. Immediately after their 
arrival at the New York Botanical Garden they were imbedded in 
earth until they were nearly covered. The earth was kept saturated 
with water and a tropical temperature was maintained. These con- 
ditions closely approximated those attending normal germination. 
MorpHo.ocicat CHAnGes.—Nearly four months elapsed before 
the shoots began to appear through the husks, the fibers of the 
husk having been pressed aside in their upward progress. At 
this stage the stem of the shoot was an inch or more in diameter 
at the “ root-crown,” sharply tapering toward the point of pene- 
tration at the surface of the husk. As the growth proceeded it 
seemed to gradually become more and more rapid, and by the end 
of a year the plants had attained the height of two or three feet, 
with a stem about an inch in diameter throughout most of its length. 
By this time the part of the husk under the earth had decayed 
considerally; it became softer and more porous, and several stout 
roots had developed through it and penetrated the soil to the 
depth of a foot or more.* 
The appearance of the nuts and their plants at this period of 
their growth is shown in the cut on page 350. Unless other- 
wise stated, the chemical analyses reported farther on were made 
of the parts at this stage of their development. 
It may not be amiss, in describing the morphological changes 
‘induced in the nut during the process of germination, to also 
briefly review, at the same time, the more important facts regard- 
ing structure of the nut as it exists in the ungerminated condition. 
The entire fruit is, strictly speaking, intermediate between a 
nut and a drupe —a ‘‘drupaceous nut.” The outer covering, 
* For facts regarding germination and cultivation see Bailey = Cyclopedia of 
American Horticulture, 1 : 341-343. 1900. Also, Wittmack, |. : Die Keimung der 
Cocosnuss. Ber. d. deut. bot, Ges. 14:°145. (1836. 
