CHAPTER IX 



THE REGIME OF THE SHRINKING AND SWELLING SEED 



ONE mode of comparing the changes which a seed experiences The relation 

 in the shrinking, resting, and swelling stages, or, in other the^hree" 1 

 words, in passing from the pre-resting to the resting con- conditions of 

 dition, and thence on to the swollen state that precedes 

 germination, is to compare the relative weights of parts in 

 the several conditions. In Chapter II we discussed this 

 subject at length as respects the seed in its entirety. We 

 will now try to obtain an insight into the details of the 

 regime of the shrinking and swelling seed, with the balance 

 again as our guide. Although the view is limited, it is 

 not without instruction ; and perhaps this is one of the 

 first attempts to state in terms of weight the correlated 

 problems concerned with the mysterious resting state, with 

 that strange shrinking process which even immersion in the 

 pulp of a watery fruit cannot inhibit, and with that singular 

 return of the seed by absorption of water to the pre- 

 resting condition whilst preparing for germination. We 

 here endeavour to illustrate numerically the changes which 

 the resting seed has undergone in the shrinking stage and 

 the changes which it has to undergo when swelling for 

 germination. 



The relative weights of the coats and the kernel in the in the 

 resting seed will first be dealt with. Though in themselves restin g- seed - 

 of little interest, they acquire importance when we contrast 



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