STRONG DRINK AND TOBACCO SMOKE. 'S.i 



hard, conical body (Plate 5, n, fig. 1), to which, as I have 

 never yet seen any description of it, I have given the 

 name of the needle. If the base of the grain, that is, the 

 part by which it was attached to the stalk when in the 

 car, remains undamaged in threshing, as in fig. 1, and the 

 outer husk of it is removed after being soaked in water 

 for a short time, there will be found lying on the inner 

 coat a peculiarly formed, mijiute body, which I call the 

 tuft (fig. 3, t). Separated from the grain, as at fig. 6, it 

 is seen to consist of a central body of a spongy nature, 

 furnished with two long arms, which, when considerably 

 magnified, are resolved into plates of cellular tissue, 

 furnished with innumerable long silky hairs. 



Fig. 8 represents a portion of the extremity of one of 

 the arms of the tuft. 



From careful observation of many grains of barley, 

 I have found that those which are damaged at their 

 bases (fig. 2), in other words, whose ends are broken, 

 seldom or ever contain the tuft ; whilst those grains 

 which have been more carefully threshed, and whose 

 ends are perfect, iuvarialjly do. In examining such 

 grains, after being steeped in water and allowed to 

 dry, either naturally, or Ijy artificial means, I have 

 invariably found the tuft to contain amongst its 

 filaments more or less of moisture, whilst all the rest 

 of the seed is dry. AVe have then, I believe, in this 

 minute body one of the essential elements for the 

 successful cultivation or growth of the seed ; it is, 

 in fact, a true sucker to the seed, and when its 



