EFFECTS OF ACID AND ALKALINE SOLUTIONS UPON PLANTS 4I3 
velocity and the equilibrium point of hydrolysis may be altered by 
acids and alkalies is suggested by a number of facts (i), but the con- 
ception that such changes may control the course of metabolism and 
the physiological water requirement of plants needs to be placed on a 
firmer basis. Attention has been given both to a series of experiments 
with seeds and with cuttings of plants. 
Dry seeds of Phaseolus multiflorus and Zea mats were used which had 
been in the laboratory for at least three years and proved to be of a low 
germinating power. The seeds were weighed and placed in glass-cov- 
ered crystallizing dishes, each containing lOO cc. of solution. At var- 
ious intervals, the seeds were removed from the solution, carefully 
dried with filter paper and weighed. The difference in weight, i. e., in 
the amount of water retained, \vith the gain or loss on the part of each 
set of seeds was calculated also in percentage of the original weight of 
the dry seeds. ^ The data contained in tables I to VI indicate the 
Table I 
The Water Content of Bean Seeds {Phaseolus multiflorus) in Acid Solutions 
Two seeds in each 100 cc. solution 
Time Interval in Hours 
H2O 
H2SO4 i^/8oo 
HNO3 «/8oo 
HCl nISoo 
HCl ;//3,2oo 
HCl «/6,4oo 
Hours 
Minutes 
2.090 
t-995 
2-055 
2.580 
2.240 
2.580 
2 
2.692 
2.400 
2.080 
2.835 
2.261 
2.720 
6 
30 
3.508 
2.862 
2.120 
3-510 
2.519 
3.120 
16 
30 
4.220 
3-758 
2.901 
4-305 
3-960 
4. 211 
20 
30 
4.220 
4.025 
3-312 
4-545 
4.320 
4-549 
26 
30 
4-341 
4-330 
4.018 
5.180 
4.912 
5.160 
40 
30 
4463 
4-501 
4.320 
5-452 
5-258 
5-495 
48 
30 
4-397 
4.472 
4-370 
5-478 
5.280 
5.500 
65 
4-430 
4-497 
4-384 
5-510 
5.260 
5.615 
89 
30 
4-365 
4-580 
4-403 
5-520 
5.220 
5.630 
116 
4.250 
4-440 
4.409 
5-540 
5-155 
5.600 
30 
4.230 
4.400 
4-445 
5-465 
4-970 
5.535 
164 
30 
4.223 
4.203 
4.468 
5.410 
4.840 
5.360 
4.220 
4.197 
4-450 
5.418 
4.800 
5.352 
Maximum percentage 
212.9% 
228.8% 
217.2% 
214.7% 
235.7% 
218.2% 
course of water retention as observed in the seeds. The results shoAr 
the relative differences in the increase until a maximal point is reached, 
after which the retention of water lessens. An increase in the amount 
2 The final dry weight of the seeds was not determined, and hence the differences 
in the amount of material acted upon by the solutions are not known in this set of 
seeds. The data obtained more recently are reserved for a future publication. . 
