GERMINATION OF THE SEED. CHAP. I. 



: 



SUBSECTION I. 



Maturity of the Seed. The first condition ne- 

 cessary to germination is, that the seed must have 

 reached maturity. Unripe seeds seldom germinate, 

 because their parts are not yet prepared to form 

 the chemical combinations on which germination 

 Excep- depends. There are some seeds, however, whose 

 germination is said to commence in the very seed- 

 vessel, even before the fruit is ripe, and while it is 

 yet attached to the parent plant. Such are those 

 of the Tangekolli of Adanson, and Agave vivipara 

 of East Florida,* as well as of the Cyamus Nc- 

 lumbo, of Dr. Smith,-f- or sacred Bean of India ; 

 to which may be added the seeds of the common 

 Garden Radish, whose germination I have often 

 found to be completely effected in the pod, at least 

 in the case of plants that had been allowed to re- 

 main after the usual period of gathering. Peas 

 have been, also, known to germinate even when 

 gathered and committed to the soil, in a green and 

 soft state ; and I have known a Lemon seed to 

 send out a radicle an inch and a half long, and a 

 plumelet visible to the naked eye, before it was yet 

 extricated from the fruit. But these are examples 

 of rare occurrence ; though it is sometimes neces- 

 sary to sow or plant the seed almost as soon as it 



* Barton's Elements, p. 58. f Exotic Botany, No. 7. 



* Seneb. Pbys. Veg. vol. iii. p. 377. 



