F. KiDD AND C. West 227 



A study of the root system is also interesting, liemoval of the food- 

 reserves appears to bring about a progressive disappearance of the 

 secondary roots. The main root in the case of plants belonging to Lot I, 

 is not always clearly distinguished; on the other hand, in the case of the 

 plants belonging to Lots II, III, and IV, it shows a vigorous development. 



The time of flowering and the total number of flowers produced were 

 also influenced by the amount of reserve food-material available for the 

 embryo. Every plant flowered, but, in the case of the plants belonging 

 to Lots II, III, and IV, the flowers were produced later than in the case 

 of the controls; and whereas there were on an average 36 flowers per 

 stalk in the case of the beans belonging to Lot I {i.e. the controls), there 

 were only 20, 16, and 10 flowers per stalk respectively in the plants 

 belonging to Lots II, III, and IV. 



The fruits were heavier and more numerous on the control plants, 



the average weight of 100 bean seeds harvested the same day being as 



follows : 



Lot I Lot II Lot III Lot I V 



245 gm. 170 gm. 137 gm. 119 gm. 



In conclusion the author made a further interesting observation, 

 namely, that the suppression of the seed-reserves markedly decreased the 

 power of the resulting plant to resist the attack of parasitic fungi. 



In a later investigation Delassus(8) examined in detail the morpho- 

 logical modifications brought about by the complete or partial removal 

 of the cotyledons of a number of leguminous plants, including the bean 

 {Vicia Faba) and lupin. He followed the same routine as in the previous 

 experiment. It was found by microscopical examination that the various 

 tissues of all the organs of the plants produced from the treated seeds 

 were reduced in size in proportion to the amount of cotyledonary tissue 

 removed, and that this reduction was not only in the number of the 

 constituent cells but also in the dimensions of individual cells. This 

 reduction in tissue development was observable at the outset and per- 

 sisted throughout the life of the plant^. 



With regard to albuminous seed (into which class the cereals fall) 

 the method usually adopted has been to completely remove the endo- 

 sperm (or perisperm) before germination or at various intervals after 

 the commencement of germination. The effects upon the subsequent 



' The influence of food-reserves is most marked in the earhest hours of germination, 

 but their removal at quite a late stage in the development of the seedling may still give 

 results similar in nature to those reported above, as is shown by the results obtained by 

 Gain (14), who removed the cotyledons from lupin seedlings on the 12th day after sowing. 



