28 POPTTLAB KEEOES. 



narily require to be of a certain age before they will 

 germinate readily, but this time is needed for the 

 softening and partial decay of their shells, and the 

 incipient stages of germination; there is no 

 recorded case of old seeds germinating with greater 

 vigor than fresh ones. 



The rapid deterioration of nearly all seeds, and 

 the perfectly well known fact that very few kinds 

 are reliable for planting after more than four or five 

 years, is sufficient in itself to cast serious doubt 

 over the statements of seeds having grown which 

 were taken from the ancient tombs of Egypt or 

 from great depths in the earth. Nevertheless, as 

 one positive example ia sufficient to refute any 

 amount of presumptive evidence to the contrary, it 

 is necessary to inquire into the accuracy of the 

 reported cases of the germination of such ancient 

 seeds, and to learn whether similar results have 

 been obtained in other cases. 



In 1840, the British Association for the 

 Advancement of Science appointed a committee to 

 conduct a series of experiments for the purpose of 

 determining how long seeds of difPerent kinds could 

 retain their vitality. These experiments were car- 

 ried on for ten years, and included the testing of a 

 great number of samples of many species. Among 

 them were samples of wheat and other grains from 

 Egyptian and other tombs, none of which germi- 



