18 



ference in the individuality of the seeds. 



All of these peculiarities of the rate of absorption may 

 be seen at a glance by turning to the curves on these experi- 

 ments. However the phenonemon of variation in the lupine claims 

 our special attention. 



Nobbe shows by his work on the effect of soaking seeds that 

 of the same variety some may take up water readily while others 

 receive water only after a long period of immersion. This in- 

 vestigator placed two thousand clover - Trifolium pratense - 

 seeds in water and at a constant temperature of 18°- 21° C, 

 92/£ of the seeds were swollen in twenty four hours. The exper- 

 iment was continued for one hundred fifty six days during which 

 time twenty four records were made of the number of newly 

 swollen seeds. Each time there were some but only a few. At 

 the end of the experiment there were forty seeds still which 

 had not taken up water. Nobbe says that clover seed may germi- 

 nate after lying inactive for three years with conditions fav- 

 orable for immediate germination of a large majority of the 

 seeds sown. He gives a number of such illustrations, but we 

 will now consider the lupine. 



Seeds of Lupintts luteus were placed in a vessel of dis- 

 tilled water and a temperature of about 22° C. was maintained. 

 After twenty four hours soaking they were taken from the water 

 and wiped dry. Ten of the seeds were swollen and were placed 



