THE SEED AND ITS GERMINATION on Be 
as shown in Fig. 3, exhaust the air by connecting the glass 
tube with an air-pump, which is then pumped vigorously, 
and seal the tube while the exhaustion is going on. The 
sealing is best done by holding a Bunsen flame under the 
middle of the horizontal part of the tube. A much easier 
experiment, which is nearly as satisfactory, can, however, 
be performed without the air-pump. 
* EXPERIMENT III 
Will Seeds Germinate well without a Good Supply of Air ? — 
Place some soaked seeds on damp blotting paper in the bottom of a 
bottle, using seeds enough to fill it three-quarters full, and close 
tightly with a rubber stopper. 
Place a few other seeds of the same kind in a second bottle; 
cover loosely. 
Place the bottles side by side, so that they will have the same 
conditions of light and heat. Watch for results, and tabulate as in 
_ previous experiments. 
Most seeds will not germinate under water, but those of the 
sunflower will do so, and therefore Exp. III may be varied in the 
_ following manner: 
Remove the shells carefully from a considerable number of sun- 
flower seeds.! Try to germinate one lot of these in water which has 
been boiled in a flask to remove the air, and then cooled in the 
same flask. Over the water, with the seeds in it, a layer of cotton- 
seed oil about a half inch deep is poured, to keep the water from 
contact with air. In this bottle then there will be only seeds and 
air-free water. Try to germinate another lot of seeds in a bottle 
half filled with ordinary water, also covered with cotton-seed oil. 
_ Results? 
~ 11. Germination involves Chemical Changes.— If a ther- 
mometer is inserted into a jar of sprouting seeds, for 
~1These are really fruits, but the distinction is not an important one at 
_ this time. 
