OF THE COCOANUT DURING GERMINATION 349 



See also, on the subject of cocoanut pearls, the Proceedings of 

 the Boston Society of Natural History, 1861 and 1862 ; The 

 Tropical Agriculturalist, 1887; Nature, 1887. 



III. Changes in the Cocoanut during Germination 



The nuts for our studies of the changes occurring during 

 germination were obtained fresh, fully developed and with their 

 husks still on them, directly from Jamaica. Immediately after their 

 arrival at the New York Botanical Garden they were imbedded in 

 earth until they were nearly covered. The earth was kept saturated 

 with water and a tropical temperature was maintained. These con- 

 ditions closely approximated those attending normal germination. 



Morphological Changes. — Nearly four months elapsed before 

 the shoots began to appear through the husks, the fibers of the 

 husk having been pressed aside in their upward progress. At 

 this stage the stem of the shoot was an inch or more in diameter 

 at the " root-crown," sharply tapering toward the point of pene- 

 tration at the surface of the husk. As the growth proceeded it 

 seemed to gradually become more and more rapid, and by the end 

 of a year the plants had attained the height of two or three feet, 

 with a stem about an inch in diameter throughout most of its length. 

 By this time the part of the husk under the earth had decayed 

 considerally; it became softer and more porous, and several stout 

 roots had developed through it and penetrated the soil to the 

 depth of a foot or more.* 



The appearance of the nuts and their plants at this period of 

 their growth is shown in the cut on page 350. Unless other- 

 wise stated, the chemical analyses reported farther on were made 

 of the parts at this stage of their development. 



It may not be amiss, in describing the morphological changes 

 induced in the nut during the process of germination, to also 

 briefly review, at the same time, the more important facts regard- 

 ing structure of the nut as it exists in the ungerminated condition. 



The entire fruit is, strictly speaking, intermediate between a 

 nut and a drupe — a "drupaceous nut." The outer covering, 



* For facts regarding germination and cultivation see I'.ailey : Cyclopedia of 

 American Horticulture, I : 341-343. 1900. Also, Wittmack, I.. : Die Keimung der 

 Cocosnuss. Ber. d. deut. bot. Ges. 14 : I45. l8j6. 



