THE AWAKENING OF THE SEED 47 



their caulicles are half an inch long: then allow them 

 to become thoroughly dry, and again place them in 

 a moist place. If they sprout let them dry again ^ and 

 repeat this as long as they continue to live. Wheat 

 and Peas and Eye may be especially recommended 

 for this experiment: very favorable are also Oats, 

 Buckwheat, Corn, Radish and Onion. 



Does light affect germination? Place two lots of 

 seeds on the surface of the soil in different pots: cover 

 one pot with a glass cover, the other with an opaque 

 cover which extends to the table so as to exclude the 

 light completely (a pasteboard cover is good for this 

 purpose). Place the first pot in diffused light, the 

 second where the seeds will be at nearly the same 

 temperature as in the other pot. Thermometers should 

 be introduced into the pots so that the temperatures 

 may be ascertained. 



Some seeds (e. g., some kinds of Larkspurs, Pop- 

 pies, etc.) are said to germinate imperfectly or not at 

 all in the light. 



Will the seed germinate more rapidly if deprived of 

 its covers? Plant several kinds of seeds, having pre- 

 viously removed the covers from half the seeds of 

 each lot. Plant some in very moist earth, others in 

 earth that is comparatively dry, and take care to 

 maintain this relation during the experiment. Which 

 germinate first? In very wet earth it often happens 

 that seeds deprived of their covers rot or mould, while 



