2IO 



DIMOX. 



[VOL. II. 



had been soaked in water for from twelve to twenty-four hours 

 to soften them, their seed-coats were removed and, from some 

 of the seeds, parts of the cotyledons were cut off with a sharp 

 scalpel, while the others were left in their normal condition 

 save for the removal of their seed-coats. The normal seeds 

 underwent the soaking in water and removal of the seed-coats 

 to make their condition like that of the others except in the 

 one point of food supply. When thus prepared, all these seeds 

 were planted on sawdust, which was kept wet during their 

 growth. In the case of the pea and nasturtium, as soon as the 

 plants from these seeds were well started a second lot of nor- 

 mal seeds, treated in the same way as the normal seeds 

 described above, was planted. In a short time, usually about 

 two weeks, the plants of the second lot were found to be 

 about the same size as those of the first lot that had come 

 from the reduced seeds. Sections of the stems were then cut 

 freehand, and camera drawings made. 



The amount of cotyledon cut off from the seeds varied very 

 considerably, and was not in all cases quantitatively deter- 

 mined. The variation may be seen from Table I, where are 



TABLE I. 



represented the percentages by weight of the part left in 

 the case of 57 peas and 35 nasturtiums. The seeds were 

 weighed after the removal of the seed-coats and again after 

 the removal of part of the cotyledons, and the percentages 

 express the ratio between the two weights. The percentages 

 in the case of the peas vary from 16 to 48, with more than 

 half the individuals between 26fo and 35^ ; those in the case 



