24 MISSOURI AGR. EXP. STA. RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 17 



Table 9 Continued 



Tables 7, 8 and 9 bring out some of the same facts deduced from 

 Table 6. In the first place it seems certain that seeds of a large num- 

 ber of species will not germinate immediately after maturity. Also it 

 appears that the species of a single order show more or less the same 

 characteristics as regards time and percentage of germination. 



Tables 7, 8 and 9 probably supply the explanation as to why so 

 many of the species in the first year's test showed no germination. 

 An examination of Tables 7 to 9 inclusive show that only eighteen 

 species out of forty-eight showing germination were able to grow im- 

 mediately after maturity, while twenty-seven species were able to germ- 

 inate only after intervals of eight to ten months. During this period of 

 quiescence the seeds were exposed to the influence of freezing and un- 

 doubtedly this had some effect in bringing about germination in the 

 spring, but evidently these species possess a long rest period, or some 

 of them would have shown signs of growth during the summer or fall 

 of 1912. 



Four species showed a capacity for germination in the fall. It 

 is possible that these species require a cool temperature for growth, 

 and since such conditions are present only during the spring and 

 autumn may be the reason why they made no growth during the sum- 

 mer. 



Table 10 shows quite clearly that green or immature seeds, at 

 least from woody plants, for the most part are unable to germinate, 

 or at least they did not germinate nearly so freely as mature seeds of 

 the same species. The set of green seeds that had been allowed to 



