VITALITY OF SEEDS. 269 



and a too late gathering of the seed, is best ; and there was 

 also obvious in most instances a subsequent ripening in the 

 cone ; just as, in Nowacki's observations, there was noticed a 

 marked ripening of wheat in the ear after its removal from 

 the plant. During the last few j'cars nothing of value lias 

 been added to the relation of immaturity of seeds to preco- 

 city of the plants produced by them. 



2. The Vitality of Seeds. 



Concerning the length of time during which seeds of dif- 

 ferent reeds can preserve their germinative power, little has 

 been contributed of late. It ma)^ however, be worth while 

 to glance at the account of " mummy wheat," which is repro- 

 duced in the newspapers with a greater degree of regularity 

 than the story warrants. As usually stated in the journals, a 

 scientific man in Germany took from the hand of a mummy, 

 at the moment when the wrappings were removed, a con- 

 siderable quantity of wlieat, which he was able to make ger- 

 minate ; and thus, after a period of thousands of years, the 

 grains produced good plants. A careful examination of the 

 literature of the subject shows that the story is probably 

 based upon the following facts, which are given in a botani- 

 cal journal for 1835 : ^ — 



" On Friday, Sept. 19, 1834, at the first session, the president opened 

 the meeting by an account of the germiuation of some wheat-grains 

 taken from Egyptian mummies. 



" In the year 1833 Count von Sternberg received from Lieut. Prokesch 

 of Osten some wheat-grains found in the wrappings of Egyptian mum- 

 mies. The first attempt to vivify the grains, namely, by means of acid, 

 miscarried, probably owing to the action of the acid on the starch, causing 

 it to dissolve. 



" Pure water acted in the same way. Next the grains were dipped 

 •in oil, then planted pretty deep in a pot of earth, and the latter placed 

 in a vessel of water. Two seedlings came up. The fruit turned out to 

 be, " Trilicuni vulgarc, spica laxa, mutica, alba, glabra, Mclzrjer. 



" Dr. Zollikofer of St. Salle remarked that Dr. Gay of Paris, some 

 years ago, had published a short paper on similar researches." 



I have been unable to find the publication of Dr. Gay 

 which is referred to in the last sentence of the quotation. 

 Concerning the statement made by the distinguished presi- 



1 Flora, 1835, i. p. 3. Report of the meeting of Bot. Sect. Germ. Phys. and 



Nat. 



