46 On the Power to germinate in Seeds of different Families. 



are sterile. This our experience does not allow of our stating as 

 ascertained ; but we are led to presume it by the difficulty of 

 getting to germinate the fresh seeds of the Orchidacese, the Oro- 

 banchacese, and some other families with extremely small seeds. 



The Leguminosse and Malvaceae, which preserve the germina- 

 tive faculty so well, are seeds possessing little or no albumen, 

 especially the Leguminosse ; but the Cruciferse and the Compo- 

 sitse, which are at the opposite extreme, have still less than they. 

 The Graminacese and Umbelliferse, which have large albumens, 

 did not preserve their powers. Thus the circumstance of the 

 presence or the absence of albumen appears in general indifferent; 

 although doubtless certain albumens, like those of the Coffees, 

 the Umbelliferse, &c, are bad to preserve on account of special 

 chemical conditions. In other points of view, the structure of 

 the seed and fruit appears equally unimportant. It might per- 

 haps have been thought, for example, that the seeds of the Com- 

 positse, being covered by the pericarp and the calyx, would be 

 better preserved than others. Experience has shown, on the 

 contrary, that they lose their vital powers in the highest degree. 



Finally, there is some interest in comparing the present expe- 

 riment with those which I made in 1832, on the relative rapidity 

 of germination in the different families* ; it will there be seen 

 that the Amaranthacese, the Cruciferse, the Caryophyllacese, 

 which germinate very quickly, lose their power of germination 

 in a few years ; that the Malvaceae germinate rapidly, and lose 

 their properties slowly ; that the Leguminosse, on the contrary, 

 germinate slowly enough, and lose their power still more slowly ; 

 lastly, that the Umbelliferse and Scrophulariacese germinate 

 slowly, and lose their vitality in a few years. It appears, from 

 these results, that the duration of the faculty of germination is 

 most frequently in an inverse proportion to the power of germina- 

 ting quickly, though without doubt there are numerous excep- 

 tions. Thus the very small seeds, which are seen to germinate 

 quickly, are also affected sooner ; while the seeds rather larger 

 or of a mean size germinate slowly or endure long. 



Such are the conclusions which result from this first experi- 

 ment. They show the necessity of others, in order to compare 

 a greater number of families and to verify certain probable specu- 

 lations. The seeds which I have kept in reserve allow me to 

 return to the subject. In the meantime, as these observations 

 have been made with all suitable precautions, and as they form, 

 with my experiments of 1832 and with those which I project, a 

 general examination of germination considered in a physiological 

 point of view, it seemed to me that it would be of use to publish 

 them. 



* Physiol. V6g6t. p. 648. 



