294 



STUDIES IN SEEDS AND FRUITS 



The method 

 of investi- 

 gation as 



illustrated in 

 the case of 



Chapter XL, the seeds shrink in the ripening berry. Then, 

 again, we shall see later on in this chapter how in the Acorn 

 (Quercus) the seed often continues its growth after the fruit- 

 shell has ceased to add to its weight and has begun to dry ; 

 whilst with the Coco-nut, when the husk of the drying fruit 

 is losing pounds in weight, the hard shell and the albumen 

 increase considerably in amount. 



The method of investigation usually adopted may be best 

 illustrated in the case of the large husky fruits of Earringtonia 

 speciosa^ the experiments covering many weeks. (The materials, 



Baningtonia ft should be remarked, were allowed to dry in my room in 

 speciosa. J , J 



Grenada, except in the early stage or the drying process, when 



they were exposed for a few hours daily in the sun.) The 

 first step consisted in determining the shrinking ratio of the 

 moist, full-grown fruit as shown by the difference in weight in 

 the moist and dry conditions. There were three ways of 

 obtaining this result : 



(1) By comparing the average weights of moist and dry 



fruits ; 



(2) By drying the moist fruit in the entire state ; 



(3) By drying separately the parts of the moist fruit, 

 namely, the husky pericarp and the seed. 



By employing these three methods the following results 

 were obtained for Earringtonia speciosa : 



The shrink- 

 age of the 

 fruit in the 

 entire 

 condition. 



On account of the considerable variation in the size and 

 weight of the fruits of Earringtonia speciosa the results supplied 

 by the first method could only be regarded as roughly 

 approximate, and in consequence they were used merely as a 

 check. The drying of the fruit in parts was deemed to give 



