CONTENTS 



CHAP. PAGE 



1. THE HISTORY OF THE INVESTIGATION .... I 



2. THE THREE CONDITIONS OF THE SEED . . . 1 8 



3. THE IMPERMEABILITY OF SEEDS AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE . 56 



4. PERMEABLE AND IMPERMEABLE SEEDS .... 69 



5. THE GROUPING OF SEEDS ACCORDING TO THEIR PERMEA- 



BILITY OR IMPERMEABILITY ..... QO 



6. ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE ON THE CONTRAST IN BEHAVIOUR 



BETWEEN PERMEABLE AND IMPERMEABLE SEEDS . 114 



7. HYGROSCOPICITY ........ 147 



8. A LAST WORD ON THE HYGROSCOPICITY OF SEEDS . l8o 



9. THE REGIME OF THE SHRINKING AND SWELLING SEED . 187 



10. THE FATE OF SEEDS AS INDICATED BY THE BALANCE . 225 



11. A CLUE TO THE HOMOLOG1ES OF FRUITS . . . 24! 



12. THE HOMOLOGIES OF FRUITS AS REVEALED IN THE DRYING 



PROCESS ......... 258 



13. THE DEHISCENCE OF FRUITS ...... 273 



14. THE PROPORTION OF PARTS IN FRUITS .... 293 



15. THE RELATION BETWEEN THE NUMBER OF SEEDS AND THE 



WEIGHT AND SIZE OF THE FRUIT . 330 



xi 



