82 



HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. 



[Jan. 



appear not to be present, or at any rate play a very unimpor- 

 tant role, in such seeds as vetch and alfalfa. 



Waugh* obtained favorable results with pepsin on tomatoes 

 and watermelon seeds, but not with radish seeds. In our 

 experiments the seeds showed a slight tendency to mould by 

 the use of pepsin. 



Experiments with Diastase Solutions. 

 Diastase, the starch-converting ferment, is probably the 

 most widely distributed enzyme in the vegetable kingdom, 

 it being found in seeds and mature parts of })lants, and usually 

 increasing during the molnlization of reserved food materials. 

 The official solution used l)y chemists was prepared for this 

 experiment, and consisted of 10 grams of fresh, finely ground 

 malt, mixed with 200 cubic centimeters of water. This we 

 have roughly designated, for convenience, as a 5 per cent, 

 solution, from which the other percentages were obtained. 

 The methods of treatment follow those in the preceding 

 experiments. 



Table X. — Showing the Effects of Diastase Solutions tipon the 

 Oermination of Black Barley Seeds (Hordeum sativum Jesseu). 



STRENGTH OF SOLUTION. 



Pebcentage or Germination (in Days). 



(24 Hours) 



Normal, 

 5 per cent., . 

 2.5 per ceut., 

 1 per cent., . 

 .5 per cent., 

 .25 per cent., 

 .1 per cent., 

 .05 per cent.. 



Normal average (per cent.), 

 Diastase average (per cent.). 



• Tenth annual report, Vermont Experiment Station, pp. 106-111; also eleventh 

 annual report, Vermont Experiment Station, pp. 290-295. 



