238 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [NOVEMBER 
gave in one series of tests 9.5 per cent germination in blotters and 
15 per cent in soil, as compared with 93.5 and 93 per cent respec- 
tively for the controls. This effect of the white polymer on the 
grain was noted by Coons and McKinney (19), who found that it 
does not readily air out of grain but persists on it, so that its pres- 
ee ————— Ps 
-—"|\ 
oe oe el — 
ee ee eae a ae ae nn. ae 
‘ 
dd oA ~~ 
3 ee 
vs ~N 
ae ‘ 
x 
N 
1 To 320 160 80. 40 
Fic. 3.—Effect of varied concentrations of formaldehyde on percentage germina- 
tion, Hybrid 128 wheat from Moro, Oregon: solid line shows percentage for seeds 
gain seh in blotters, broken lines for seeds in soil outside and indoors; ten minutes 
of so g; summary of 3000 seeds teste 
ence could be demonstrated by an indicator after the grain had 
been exposed to the air of the laboratory for many months. Miss 
Hurp (33) later has emphasized the extreme importance of the 
polymer as the possible channel through which injury from formal- 
dehyde ordinarily results. 
PERMEABILITY 
It was recognized that it must be determined whether formalde- 
hyde actually penetrates the coat of wheat. It has long been known 
that the seed coats of many seeds exhibit varying powers of exclu- 
