SECT. III. CHEMICAL PHENOMENA. $7 



part of its oxygene, is converted into carbonic 

 oxide. * The phenomena therefore observed by 

 Huber and Senebier were not the result of germina- 

 tion, but of putrefaction ; and there is no proof of 

 the decomposition of the water contained in the 

 seed during the progress of germination, because 

 there is no hydrogene or oxygene evolved during 

 that process. 



There were other grounds, however, on which Decompo- 

 the decomposition of water was supposed to be ef- water. 

 fected during the germination of the seed. M. Rollo 

 had observed that many seeds during the process 

 of germination are converted from a mucilage into 

 a sort of sugar ; but finding that this effect never took 

 place in mediums deprived of oxygene, and knowing 

 that sugar contains more oxygene than mucilage, 

 he concluded that oxygene was in this case either 

 abstracted from the atmosphere, or obtained from 

 the decomposition of the water with which the seed 

 was surrounded. It could not be abstracted from 

 the atmosphere of the seed, because the quantity of 

 oxygene in the atmosphere of the germinating seed 

 remains the same ; it was therefore of necessity 

 obtained from the decomposition of water with 

 which the seed was surrounded.^ 



But the same effect will follow if we suppose, Doubtful, 

 with Saussure, that the carbon of the seed is dimi- 



* Saussure sur la Vegetation, chap. vi. sect. iv. 

 t Annal. do Chim. vol. xxv. p. 44. 



