18 



In the foregoing eight tables sixty-four lots of twenty-five seeds 

 each were used, or in all sixteen hundred seeds. Of these, fifty-six 

 lots received treatment, while eiglit were kept as normal plants or 

 checks for the treated seeds. In drawing conclusions from the 

 results obtained, it has been thought best to take a general average 

 of the various results in all the tables rather than to compare the 

 results of individual tables, for in the former metl'.od the danger of 

 error from individual variation is much lessened as there are a 

 greater number of seeds compared. 



In order to determine whether germination was hastened b}' treat- 

 ment, an average was made of the total number of seeds germinat- 

 ing in 2-1, 48 and 72 liours respectively. The following table shows 

 the result obtained by such an average : 



Average number ( 24 hours 



seedsgerminated -| 48 hours 



iu each lot in (^ 72 hours 



From these results it will be noticed that by applying electricity, 

 germination was considerably hastened and that those lots of seeds 

 wliich received treatment, gave a higher percentage of germination 

 at the close of the experiments. This latter condition may be due 

 to the fact that the treated seeds germinated more quickly than the 

 normal, and that there still remained in the normal, seeds which 

 would have germinated had the experiment been conducted for a 

 longer period of time. An examination of the follovving tables 

 seems to prove however that this was not the case, but that the 

 electric current awakened life in some seeds which without treatment 

 would have remained dormant. 



It will also be noticed in the tables that there was quite a varia- 

 tion in the lengths of radicles with the various strengths of current. 

 As the secondary coil was removed from the primary, consequently 

 weakening the current, there was a gradual increase in the length of 

 radicles until an optimum* etfect was reached. From this point there 

 was a decrease and had there b* en used a sufficiently weak current 

 there would have been found without doubt a point at which no 

 effect could be seen. 



In the first four tables this optimum stimulation was at seven cen- 

 timeters (in one case eleven) while in the second four, it was at one 

 centimeter. The cause of this variation in the second series of 



*The optimum current or stimulation is that ■which gives the best results. 



