OF NEUTRAL SODIUM SULPHITE UPON PH^NOGAMS. 263 



IV. Experiments with Seeds. 



Seeds of soya bean, radish, and barley were soaked in the 

 same solution as above mentioned, for 48 hours in well closed 

 flasks ; the sulphite solution was once renewed after 24 hours, 

 and fifty seeds of each kind were left to germinate, the barley 

 and radish in Liebeuberg' s gerviination apparatus, the soya bean 

 on moist sea sand. The result is seen from the following 

 table : — 







Number of germinating seeds. 







After 2 days- 



After 3 days. 



After 5 days. 



After 6 days. 



Sodium 

 sulphite. 



Radish. 

 Barley. 

 Soya bean. 



26 



37 

 0 



32 

 41 

 7 



34 

 46 

 32 



34 

 47 

 34 



Sodium 

 sulphate. 



Radish. 

 Barley. 

 Soya bean. 



34 



25 



31 



36 

 31 

 35 



37 

 44 

 49 



37 

 45 



49 



Water. 



Radish. 

 Barley. 

 Soya bean. 



29 

 25 

 45 



31 

 30 

 45 



31 

 41 



49 



31 

 41 



49 



It appears, therefore, that no noxious effect was felt by the 

 radish and barley seeds, but it was felt to some extent by the soya 

 beans, where especially the retardation of germination was very 

 striking.'" Much depends in these cases upon the facility with 

 which the poison can enter into the embryo. 



(I) This might have been due to the absorption of the oxygen dissolved in the water 

 absorbed by the seeds, whereby respiration could not set in as soon as in the control 

 cases. 



