TBE A WAKENING OF THE SEED 



19 



contact with it. Is this really the case, or does the 

 water come through elsewhere, but so slowly that it 

 evaporates as rapidly as it reaches the inner surface 

 of the cover ? Repeat the experiment as follows : 

 Prepare the boats as before, and seal them to strips 

 of glass by means of sealing-wax, as shown in Fig. 21. 

 Smear the rim of the boat with hot sealing-wax, in- 



21. Modification of the experiment shown in Fig. 20. 



vert it on the glass and run a hot piece of wire around 

 the rim until a tight joint is secured. Place the glass 

 (boats down) on a tumbler, and carefully pour in 

 water until it touches the boats; do not let it touch 

 the glass strip. If water enters the boats, moisture 

 will collect in drops. Let some of the boats so treated 

 stand near by but not in contact with water, as a 

 control experiment. 



If, as appears to be the case, the water does not 

 come through the seed-cover except where the germ 

 (or endosperm) is in contact with the cover (and 



