THE SEED 13 



used by him as demonstrations in his object-lessons. 

 They admit of considerable modification and variation, 

 and, in their present form, are merely intended to be 

 suggestive. The precise manner in which they are con- 

 ducted must necessarily depend on the circumstances 

 surrounding each class of students, but too much stress 

 cannot be laid on the advantage of the pupils actually 

 performing all the experiments for themselves whenever 

 there are no reasons rendering this quite impossible. 



The Conditions of Germination. 



Moisture, air, and warmth are necessary for the ger- 

 mination and continued growth of seeds. In order to 

 demonstrate this, take four rather small but wide-mouthed 

 bottles, two of which are furnished with good corks. 

 Label these bottles A, B, C, and D respectively. In A, 

 having first taken care that it is perfectly dry, place 

 some dry seeds (wheat, barley, peas, or beans), cork the 

 bottle, and seal with sealing-wax or beeswax. In B, 

 place two or three layers of wet blotting-paper at the 

 bottom, then put in the seeds, and cork and seal as 

 before. Treat C exactly as B, but leave the bottle un- 

 corked. 



Place seeds in bottle D, and then fill the bottle com- 

 pletely with water, which has been boiled and allowed to 

 cool, to drive out the air it contains. By this means the 

 air originally in the bottle is displaced with water, and 

 now closing the bottle with a cork, we have the seeds 

 wet but with practically no air. 



Put A, B, C, and D away side by side, preferably in 

 a dark place, and examine daily. It should be found that 



