1895.] Deviation in Development Due to the use of Unripe Seeds. 909 
While the use of immature seed brings about greater activity 
in reproduction, and a tendency to early maturity, the same is 
also true of plants from very old seed, as has been recognized 
for a very long time. It is probably best known in reference 
to melons,” which are generally believed to give more and bet- 
ter fruit when the seeds are five to twenty years old,” although 
the plants will be weak. Observations have not, however, been 
confined to melons, but are recorded for pears, beans, lentils, 
ete. 
The retardation of the germination due to age is well shown 
by the tests of tomato seeds made by Lovett, in which seeds 
from 2 to 6 years old showed the first germination in 10 days, 
7 years, in 11 days, 8 and9 years in 12 days 10 and 11 years, 
in 14 days, and 13 years,in 18 days. It will be observed that 
the effect of over-maturity is the same as results from imma- 
turity (cf. table III). The similarity of effect is even better 
shown by a test of red clover seed made by Nobbe® in 1874, 
in which mature and immature seed of the crop of that year 
was compared with that of the crop of 1870, the trial being 
made in December, 1874. The germination of the immature 
seed was slower than that of the mature seed which had been 
kept four years, while the total number of germinations for 
both immature and over-mature seed was much decreased by 
four years’ keeping (see table VIII). 
It is evident, therefore, that aging as well as immaturity of 
seed leads to weakness of the seedlings, and a general lowered 
vitality. 
Some of the same characteristics which we have seen in the 
plants from immature seed may also be observed when plants 
%6 « Es ist behaupted worden, dass Melonenkerne nach mehrjähriger Aufbewah- 
rung Pflanzen liefern, welche weit weiniger ¢ Bliithen bringen, als Pflanzen aus 
frischen Samen ; nach 5 Jahren sollten angeblich gar keine € Bliithen gebildet 
werden. Verf. siete 1878 Melonensamen von 1876 und von 1870. Von den 
älteren Samen keimte eine geringere Zahl; die daraus hervorgegangenen Pflanzen 
waren etwas weniger kräftig.” Baillon (Bull. mens. soc. Linn. de Paris, No. 23, 
1878) Justs Bot. Jahresb. vi (1878), p. 328. 
31 Fleischer, 1. c., p. 17; Schulz, quoted by Cohn, Symbola, p.,9. 
3 Rep. N. Y. Exper. Sta., ii (1883), p- 267. 
39 Samenkunde, p. 346. : 
