234 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



reorganization. It follows therefore that whenever a seed 

 germinates it is not a mere wakening of its dormant vital 

 activities that occurs but an actual creation of life takes 

 place. This creation of life is due to the building up of 

 the living protoplasmic molecule from its dead constituents 

 and can only take place when the molecules of the latter 

 are proportionately and appropriately arranged with regard 

 to one another. The original creation of the living pro- 

 toplasmic molecule was probably due to the necessary 

 molecular constituents becoming accidentally arranged in 

 the appropriate manner, their combination being effected 

 under the stimulus of radiant energy in the form of heat. 

 The problem of creating life by artificial means will 

 therefore be solved when we discover how to reproduce by 

 mechanical or chemical means the arrangement of the 

 constituents of the protoplasmic molecule which prevails 

 in the dormant seed. 



Latent Period of Germination. 

 In experiments upon germination the commencement of 

 germination is usually measured from the first protrusion of 

 the embryonic radicle. The time which the radicle takes 

 to protrude is dependent upon the rapidity of its growth, 

 the amount of water which the seed absorbs and upon the 

 nature and thickness of the integument, and hence the pro- 

 trusion of the radicle only takes place sometime after 

 germination has actually begun. Germination really 

 begins when the reformed protoplasm of the seed com- 

 mences to respire and hence to evolve C0 2 . In the 

 following experiments conducted upon Peas, Haricots and 

 Hemp, the first evolution of C0 2 was taken as indicating 

 the commencement of germination. The seeds were 

 placed in a flask through which a slow current of air was 

 drawn by means of an aspirator. The air first passed 



