THE SEED 11 
A better test is to weigh two or three ounces of seeds, and heat them 
in a double boiler or in oil to prevent scorching. Weigh at intervals. It 
there is any loss of weight, to what is it due? 
IXPERIMENT 11. Do SEEDS ABSORB WATER?— Soak a number of 
beans or grains of corn in water for 12 to 24 hours and compare with 
dry ones. What differencedo you notice? To what cause is it due? 
Experiment 12. How DID WATER GET INTO THE SOAKED SEEDS? — 
Dry gently with a soft cloth some of the seeds used in the last experiment 
and press them lightly to see if water comes out, and where. Place a num- 
ber of dry seeds of different kinds — squash, bean, castor bean, quince, 
etc. — in warm water and notice whether any bubbles of air form on them 
and at what point. Examine with a lens and see if this point differs in any 
way from the rest of the seed cover. Does it correspond with the point 
from which water exuded in the soaked seeds? Could hard seeds like 
the squash, castor bean, buckeye, and Brazil nut get water readily without 
an opening somewhere in the coat? 
EXPERIMENT 138. To FIND OUT WHETHER WATER IS ABSORBED 
THROUGH THE SEED coats. — Place in moist sand or sawdust two rows 
of beans as nearly as possible of the same size and weight, with the eye 
pressed down to the substratum in one row and turned up in the other, so 
that no moisture can enter through it. In the same way arrange two 
rows of castor beans with the little end down in one row and uppermost 
in the other. In the last set carefully break away the spongy mass near 
the tip, without injuring the parts about it. Watch and see in which 
rows water is absorbed most readily. What change takes place in the 
spongy masses at the tips of those castor beans on 
which they were left ? 
EXPERIMENT 14. Is THE RATE OF GERMINA- 
TION AFFECTED BY THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF 
OPENINGS ? — Seal up with wax or paraffin all the 
openings of a number of air-dry peas or beans, and 
leave an equal number of the same size and weight 
untreated. Be careful that the sealing is absolutely 
water-tight, since otherwise the experiment will 
be worthless. Plant both sets and keep under like 
conditions of soil, temperature, and moisture. Do 
you see any difference in the rate of germination of 
the two sets? 
EXPERIMENT 15. Do SEEDS EXERT FORCE IN Fic. 13. — Effect 
9 i ‘ of the expansion of 
ABSORBING WATER ? — Fill a common six-ounce bot- seeds due to absorp- 
tle as full as it will hold with dry peas, beans, or _ tion of water. 
