98 University of California Publications in Botany [Vol. 5 



When germination was first noted on March 3, the numbers 

 given above under that date express the number of seeds from 

 which, in each ease, the white caulicle was protruding and the 

 cotyledons also were beginning to appear. This condition of 

 the seeds was throughout taken as the criterion of germination. 

 The germinating case was not opened until March 10, at which 

 date many of the seedlings were entirely free from the seed 

 coats, the greenish cotyledons were fully expanded and con- 

 siderable growth of the first rootlets had taken place. On this 

 date and on i\Iarch 13, 16, 20. 27, and 31, all the seeds were 

 removed from the case and all the seedlings, free from the seed 

 coats, were planted in four-inch pots of sterilized soil and each 

 pot covered with a glass plate. The pots were watered from 

 beneath and placed near an east window. 



Though no difficulty, except in the case of the ill-formed, 

 chaffy seed, was experienced in connection with moulds attack- 

 ing the seed in the germinating case, the pots containing the 

 seedlings were much affected and quite a number of the young 

 plants damped off during the first three weeks, because of the 

 thick laver of mould over the surface of the soil. 



2. In the Propagating House 



Since germination had been very slow throughout all the 

 weights of seed between March 21 and 31, it was thought best 

 to change the conditions under which germination had been 

 taking place. To this end. on April 1, the remaining seeds 

 were picked off from the blotting-papers and lightly sown in 

 sterilized soil. The pots containing the seed that had not ger- 

 minated were then removed to a propagating house in which 

 temperature and moisture conditions suffered daily a wide 

 degree of variation. No sign of germination was observed among 

 any of the weights of seed for six days and then only a slight 

 germination among the light-weight seed. When it was next 

 possible to note the germination — i.e., April 28 — extensive ger- 

 mination was found to have taken place, especially among the 

 hea\'y weights of seed, as noted below. • 



