6 STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS 



for the benefit of the embryo. From this point of view the 

 water-contents of seeds might be thus characterised : — 



A. The water lost in the normal shrinking process ) 



and regained for germination . . . j 



B. The water which the seed shrinking excessively ) 



loses and the seed shrinking normally retains j 



C. The water which the normal resting seed loses | 



in the oven in addition to the water A and B j 

 Waterless residue ..... 



Whilst A would be the water of germination, B would be the 

 water of inclusion or the water of the rest-period, and C would 

 be the water of combination, only to be driven off by exposure 

 to a temperature of ioo° C. 



It follows from the above view that all resting seeds 

 should possess Impervious coats which would secure the 

 retention of the water of inclusion for the use of the embryo, 

 and that the result of puncturing the resting seed or baring it 

 of its coats would be a considerable loss of weight. It is also 

 implied that the abnormally shrunken seed would lose less 

 water in the oven than the normal resting seed. 



To make a long story short, I may remark that all the 

 implications failed when put to the test. Many seeds proved 

 to have pervious coats. They, as a rule, preserved the same 

 weight when deprived of the protection of their coats by 

 baring or puncturing. Lastly, the abnormally shrunken seeds 

 lost about as much water in the oven as the normal resting 

 seed. 



So my hypothesis, relating to a special supply of water for 

 the use of the embryo in the resting seed, collapsed. But 

 whilst putting it to the proof I had accumulated a large 

 number of results of experiments which are utilised in other 

 connections in the next chapter, and I chanced upon other 

 suggestive lines of inquiry. After determining the water- 

 percentage of seeds in the oven, I used to throw away the 

 sample. But on one occasion a sample of the broken-up 



