﻿BOTANICAL GAZETTE [February 



by weak enough ether,^^ and that germination and subsequent 

 growth can be accelerated by a short exposure to HCN gas,^^ 

 Ldvinson^° discovered that germination was hastened by CS^, 

 DeToni and Mach^^ are said to get the same result by treating 

 tobacco seeds with alkaloids; Windisch''^ finds that Ca(OH)2, 

 though damaging to some kinds of seeds, improv^es the germina- 

 tion of oats ; and Bottger^^ has hastened the germination of coffee 

 with dilute KOH. Kahlenberg and True^'^ found that in acid 

 solutions their seedlings had a tendency toward abnormally rapid 

 growth, followed by death ; but experiments on this point with 

 HCl yielded only negative results. An unsigned note^^ in an old 

 Flora says : 



Bekanntlich konnen Samen, welche schwer keimen, oder die Fahigkeit 

 dazu bereits verloren haben, dadurch zum Keimen gebracht warden, dass 

 man dieselben langere Zeit in mit Salzsaure schwach angesauertes Wasser 

 legt. 



This is followed by a review of work, the original publication 

 of which in *'Silliman's Journal" I have not located, on seeds 

 treated with very dilute HCL Lacttica sativa in these experi- 

 ments was two and one-half inches high in 48 hours, and in 

 eight days had reached the state of development normally 

 requiring five or six weeks ; and young pines and firs grew so, 

 that, at the end of three months, they were taken for two years 

 old. 



'® TowNSEND, C. O., The effect of ether upon the germination of seeds and spores. 

 BoT. Gaz. 27:458-466. 1899. 



^9To\VNSEND, C. O., The effect of hydrocyanic acid gas upon grains and other 

 seeds. Box. Gaz. 31 : 241-264. 1901. 



20L0VINSON, O., Ueber Keimungs- und Wachsthumsversuche an Erbsen in 

 Losungen von fettsauren Salzen unter Ausschluss von Mineralsauren. Bot. Centralbl. 

 83:1,33.^5,97,129,185,210. 1900. 



"DeToni, B. G., e Mach, P., Sopra I'influenza esercitata della nicotina, etc. 

 Boll. R. 1st. Bot. Univ. Parmiense. 1893. Not seen. 



^WiNDiscH, R., Ueber die Einwirkung des Kalkhydrates auf die Keimung. 

 Landw. Versuchsst. 54:283-309. [Bot, Centralbl. 87:217.] 



r 



=3B6ttger, R., BeforderungTdes Keimprocesses. Jahresb. phys. Ver, Frankfurt. 

 1872-3. [Bot. Jahresber. 1:833. 1874.] 



=4 Kahlenberg, L., and True, R. H., On the toxic action of dissolved salts and 

 their electrolytic dissociation. Bot. Gaz. 22 : 81-124. 1896. 



^^sBeforderung des Wachsthums der Pflanzen durch Salzsaure. Flora 28:464. 

 1845. 



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