on the Vegetation of Seeds. 313 
lobes. The former is a fmall bud, that appears to 
be the receptacle of the vegetative principle, where it 
lies torpid, till its activity is excited by foreign 
caufes. The feed lobes are two foft bodies, which, 
cohering clofely, leave a notch between them for 
the reception of the Germ. They confift of a 
vegetable oxyd, or of a bafis compounded of Car- 
bone and Hydrogene, and impregnated with Oxygene: 
a quantity of oil, or of the -bafis not oxydated, is 
diffufed through their fubftance. When feeds are 
covered with water, or buried i wet earth, they 
imbibe a portion of humidity ; in confequence of 
which, the vegetative principle begins to exert itfelf, 
if not prevented by a want of a proper degree of 
warmth, or by other caufes. It is highly probable, 
that no two kinds of feeds abforb equal quantities 
of water: For, I have found, that barley takes up 
only one-third of its weigut of this fluid in forty- 
eight hours; but that peas charge themfelves with 
three-quarters of their weight in the fame time. 
Having ftated the foregoing facts, which the nature 
of this effay feemed to demand, I thall proceed 1 in 
the detail of my experiments. 
Experiment II. One ounce of fteeped barley 
being put into a bottle which would hold one ounce 
three drams of rain water; and alfo three drams of 
«the fame grain, prepared in the fame manner, into 
a fecond bottle capable of containing four ounces of 
water; they were both clofely corked, and placed 
Rr in 
