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WILLIAM EUGENE PICKLER 



lower imbibition force. The results obtained with barley indi- 

 cate that the imbibitional force exerted by the barley grain, ex- 

 pressed in osmotic pressure, is far in excess of that of the seed 

 of Xanthium. At the end of 4 hours the grains had taken up 

 19.07% of water, an increase of 5.22%. Each 2 hour increase 

 in the time of immersion produces an increase in the amount of 

 water taken up, but the increase gradually lessens as the imbi- 

 bitional forces reach more nearly equilibrium. The gain of 5.22% 

 of the two-hour period is not again reached. 



The amount of water, expressed in per cent, taken up by barley 

 grains immersed in distilled water at 30°C. is given in column 

 5 of table 6. At the end of 2 hours the grains had taken up 



TABLE 6 



Comparison of the water content of grains immersed in distilled water at 30°C. with 



diastase activity 



21.27% of water, an amount 1.3 times greater than that ab- 

 sorbed from a saturated solution of LiCl in the same length of 

 time. At the end of 4 hours 29.17% of water had been absorbed, 

 an amount 1.2 times greater than that at the end of 2 hours. 

 Here again as the grains are immersed for a longer time the 

 amount of increase is successively less until at the end of 12 

 hours (55.01%) it is only 3.53% more than at the end of 10 

 hours (51.48%). The decrease is not so rapid as in the case of 

 a saturated solution of LiCl. Upon comparing the water con- 

 tent of the barley grains after having been immersed for 12 hours 

 in a saturated solution of LiCl and distilled water respectively, 

 it can be seen that they are to each other as 1 : 1.26. This method 



