188 TBANSACTIONS LIVEEPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



results of a series of such experiments the seeds being 

 dried over sulphuric acid at from 37°C. — 38°C. for the 

 times given. The numbers given are comparison per- 

 centages with seeds kept for similar lengths of time in 

 paper bags at a room temperature from 16°C. — 20°C. 



Table C. 





Cucurbita 

 pepo. 



Brassica 

 napus. 



Helianthus 

 animus. 



Barley. 



Hemp. 



Peas. 



Haricots. 



3 weeks. 



73 p.c. 



48 p.c. 



83 p.c. 



98 p.c. 



None. 



15 p.c. 



None. 



6 weeks. 



50 p.c. 



43 p.c. 



51 p.c. 



57 p.c. 



None. 



None. 



None. 



Seeds of Brassica napus after nine weeks dessication 

 gave as their comparison percentage 21 p.c. but of these 

 many seedlings are weaklings and soon die. Of the seeds 

 of Helianthus which germinated after six weeks drying, 

 in 9 p.c. the radicle was killed, the " seedlings " consisting 

 of hypocotyledonary axis, cotyledons and plumule, all 

 soon dying. Similarly in 5 p.c. of the pea embryoes 

 formed after three weeks drying no radicle or roots 

 develop, the plumule and cotyledons soon dying and 

 decaying, but in some cases not till the plumule has 

 attained a length of several centimetres ; in 6 p.c. the 

 radicle does not develop but is replaced by secondary 

 roots ; the remaining 4 p.c. are normal seedlings but in a 

 few cases the stems are irregularly twisted and grow horiz- 

 ontally instead of upright. In this last case apparently 

 one result of dessication has been to induce irregularities 

 of growth in the plumule, so pronounced in character, 

 as to inhibit or mask its ageotropic and heliotropic 

 irritabilities. With shorter periods of dessication Haricots 

 and Hemp gave the following results. 



