Dec. 15. 1914 Oil Content of Seeds and Nutrition 0} Plant 



235 



duced, and the quantity of oil in the individual seed is scarcely changed. 

 A reduction in the normal proportion of the reproductive parts, on the 

 other hand, leads to an increase in weight of the vegetative parts, and 

 the size of the seed and its oil content are materially increased. These 

 facts are not applicable to the variety which developed its seed within 

 a short period of time. 



OIL CONTENT AS AFFECTED BY SIZE OF SEED 



In studying quantitative relationships of seeds one is at once confronted 

 with the fact that in any particular lot of seed there is always considerable 

 variation in the size of individuals, whatever the conditions under which 

 the seed may be grown. This is true even of the seed from an individual 

 plant. To ascertain whether there is any constant relationship between 

 the oil content and the size of the seeds from the same plant, seeds of 

 several varieties of soy beans grown in different localities were separated 

 by hand into the larger and smaller sizes and their oil content was deter- 

 mined. The results are shown in Table V. 



Table V. — Oil content of soy beans of large and small size from the same plant 



Variety and locality. 



Ogemaw (S. P. I. No. 17258): 

 Pullman, Wash 



Do 



Amherst , Mass 



Do 



Wooster, Ohio 



Do 



Hansen (S. P. I. No. 20409): 

 Pullman, Wash 



Do 



Statesville, N. C 



Do 



La Fayette, Ind 



Do 



Buckshot (S. P. I. No. 17251): 

 Kingston, R. I 



Do 



Amherst, Mass 



Do 



size of 

 beans. 



Large. 

 Small . 

 Large. 

 Small . 

 Large. 

 Small. 



Large. 

 Sm^l. 

 Large . 

 vSmall. 

 Large . 

 Small . 



Large. 

 Small. 

 Large . 

 Small 



Weight of 

 1.000 

 beans. 



Gtti. 



171 

 106 

 290 

 169 

 259 

 137 



46 



25 

 64 



37 

 86 



53 



364 

 196 



380 



215 



Moisture 

 in beans. 



Per cent. 

 5.60 



5-25 

 6. ^o 

 6.60 

 6. 40 

 6. 40 



6. 10 

 5-85 

 7-35 

 6.80 



6.75 

 6.75 



6.30 

 6.65 

 6. 05 

 6. 40 



Oil in 

 moist 

 beans. 



Per cent. 



13. 88 



14. 17 

 16. 92 



16. 63 

 16.30 

 15-95 



11. 72 



12. 27 

 13-27 



13-50 

 II. 72 

 II. 15 



17-45 



17. 00 

 17.87 

 16.95 



Considering only the large and small beans from the same lot of seed, 

 it appears that generally the percentage of oil is approximately the same, 

 although there are some cases in which there are considerable differences. 

 No fixed rule can be laid down as to the relative percentages of oil in large 

 and small beans. It is evident that there are marked differences in the 

 size of the beans in each lot, but a quantitative separation is impracticable, 

 since there arc all gradations in size. The only practicable method of 

 comparing different lots of seed, therefore, is to secure average values 

 based on comparatively large quantities, simply counting out the seed as 

 they come, without any attempt at separation into sizes. 



