328 THE SEED. 



necessarily hypogaous in germination (124, 126), that is, they re- 

 main underground, enclosed within the coats of the seed, yielding 

 their abundant store of nourisliment to the radicle and the plumule ; 

 and the first leaves that appear are those of the plumule. 



Sect. II. Germination. 



646. Germination is the initial act of growth, by which the embryo 

 in a seed develops into a plantlet. The steps of the early growth 

 have already been sufficiently explained in an early part of this vol- 

 ume (119-132). 



647. The seeds of some plants (such as the Red Maple) germi- 

 nate shortly after falling to the ground ; those of most other plants 

 not until the next year, or even later. How long seeds may retain 

 the power of germinating is uncertain, and is extremely variable in 

 different species and famiUes. Those of many plants under ordinary 

 circumstances can rarely be made to grow after two or tln-ee years ; 

 some will germinate pretty well after several years keeping ; and 

 the seeds of certain Leguminous plants have been known to germi- 

 nate when sixty years old. But the current accounts of wheat, &c. 

 being raised from grain talten from ancient mummies, circumstan- 

 tially authenticated as some of them appear to be, must be received 

 with the greatest misgiving, if not with entire incredulity. One of 

 the most probable cases of germination of ancient seeds on record is 

 that given by Dr. Lindley, of some Raspberries, " raised in the gar- 

 den of the Horticultural Society from seeds taken from the stomach 

 of a man, whose skeleton was found thirty feet below the surface of 

 the earth, at the bottom of a barrow which was opened near Dorches- 

 ter. He had been buried with some coins of the Emperor Hadrian ; 

 and it is therefore probable that the seeds were sixteen or seventeen 

 hundred years old." Most seeds, when buried deep in the soil, 

 where they ai-e subject to a uniform and moderate temperature, and 

 removed from the influence 'of the air and light, may be in a favorable 

 state for the preservation of vitality, and would be likely to germi- 

 nate when brought to the surface after a considerable interval. But 

 the possibility of mistake or of collusion must be more thoroughly 

 eliminated before a case of such extraordinary tenacity of life, under 

 conditions in some respects very unfavorable, can be considered as 

 well established. 



