HORTICULTURE AND LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



129 



.Solution. 



„• I One 



a -( Three-flfths. 



2 I 



M L One-fifth 



„• fOne 



.S I 



g -! Three-flfths. 



w I One-fifth. 

 Oxalic acid... 

 Pure water. - 

 Lime-water.. 



After soaking eight hours. 



Radishes. 

 Days. 



3 



3^ 



Peas. 

 Days. 



I 



o 

 3 



3}4 



2X 



2^ 



2 



3.V 



3 



3X 



4X 



IX 



Cabbage. 

 Days. 



3X 

 3X 

 3^ 

 4>^ 

 4>^ 

 3K 



3 



After soaking 24 hours. 



Radishes. 

 Days. 



4X 



iX 



Peas. 

 Days. 



5 

 4>^ 



4X 

 2>^ 



3 

 2>^ 



Cabbage. 

 Days. 



4J<S 



4;<r 



5^4 



2>^ 



From the above table it will be seen that in the eight hour series there 

 was a gain of time in the germination of the seeds that had been soaked in 

 the prepared solutions over those soaked in the pure water. The greatest 

 gain was with the lime-water. 



In the twenty-four hours' series it is evident that the seeds soaked too long, 

 especially in the chlorine solutions, where nearly every seed failed to germi- 

 nate. In pure water the radishes and peas did well, while the cabbage, for 

 some unknown reason, failed entirely. 



The seeds in the lime-water came out ahead, yet they did not average so 

 well in this instance as in the eight hour series. 



From these experiments it appears probable that the germination of some 

 seeds may be hastened by a previous soaking in solutions other thau pure 

 water; and that a very weak solution of lime-water has the most marked 

 effect, reducing the time of germination to thirty-six hours. This latter cor- 

 responds with the results obtained by Von Humboldt with radish seeds soaked 

 in the mono-chrotnide of camphor. Being unable to procure this camphor 

 compound. Von Humboldt's experiment could not be repeated. 



The second experiment was performed by 0. C. Wheeler of the class of 

 1887. He reports it as follows: 



The solutions used were bromine, chlorine, lime and pure water. 



The first solution of bromine was pure bromine water, diluted to ten times 

 its volume; the second was the first diluted to twice its volume, or the origi- 

 nal bromine diluted to twenty times its volume; the third was the first dilu- 

 ted to three times its volume, or the original bromine diluted thirty times 

 its volume. The original bromine water is taken as the standard in com- 

 puting the per cent. 



The first solution of lime-water was made by thorougly slacking 24.3 grams 

 pure quick lime in two quarts of water. This is taken as the standard solu- 

 tion from which the per cent of the other solutions is computed. The second 

 solution is the lime-water diluted one-fourth its volume; the third solution is 

 diluted twice its volume. 



The first solution of chlorine water was made by diluting pure chlorine water 

 to five times its volume, the pure chlorine water being taken as the standard. 

 The second solution was the pure chlorine diluted to ten times its volume. 



17 



