EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



Vol. XXVll. Abstkact Number. No. 3. 



RECENT WORK IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY— AGROTECHNY. 



Metabolic water: Its production and role in vital phenomena, S. M. 

 Babcock {Wisconsin >S7a. Research Bui. 22, pp. 87-181). — The author believes 

 that KuUifieiit distinction has not been made in plant and animal physiology 

 between the function of water which is imbibed and that which is produced as a 

 result of metabolism — oxidation, dehydration of carbohydrates, etc. The meta- 

 bolic production of water is always associated witli tlie absorption of free oxy- 

 gen and an evolution of carbon dioxid, the latter being practically in the same 

 ratio as the absorbed oxygen. The water so produced is in many instances 

 essential to the life of the organism. 



The results of some experiments with seeds (Zea dkiijs), made for the purpose 

 of determining the influence of drying ui)on germination, show tliat seeds which 

 were dried for a considerable length of time lost in germinating power and 

 showed weak: sprout production, while those dried and immersed in hydrogen 

 peroxid did not germinate at all. 



The rate of respiration is within certain limits governed by the amount and 

 distribution of water contained in the seed. The presence of carbon dioxid was 

 found to retard germination somewhat, the retardation being proi)ortional to the 

 amount of oxygen present. Corn stored in an atmosphere of carbon dioxid in a 

 sealed fiask, for a period of 30 days, gave evidences of intra-molecular respira- 

 tion (or anaerobic fermentation), and showed an increase of water from 29.66 

 to 33.94 per cent. None of this corn germinated when tested later. 



Corn treated with solutions of glucose (3 per cent) showed a much higher 

 percentage of germination than that treated with water alone. The embryo of 

 seeds (corn) was found to absorb water more rapidly than the eudosi>erm. 



Germination tests conducted with hydrogen peroxid, in strengths from J to 3 

 per cent, showed " that a very satisfactory method of making germination tests 

 is to place the seeds between filter papers that are afterwards moistened with a 

 lA per cent solution of hydrogen peroxid. In this way a large excess of the 

 reagent is avoided and growth of parasitic organisms prevented. It is well in 

 this case to renew the solution after 24 hours, the surplus liquid being poured 

 off or absorbed by dry filter paper. In general, small seeds such as tobacco, 

 timothy, clover, etc., have not germinated as readily with hydrogen peroxid as 

 when water only was employed. Good results have been obtained with corn, 

 wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, peas, and beans either when immersed in the 

 reagent or when placed between filter papers and moistened with it. Oats have 

 not germinated well, by either method, unless the hulls were previously re- 

 moved ; v.'heu this was done oats germinated as well in hydrogen peroxid as 



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