METEORITES, AND THE ORIGIN OF LIFE. 401 
which they would he exposed before entering our atmosphere 
would suffice to destroy life. Micheli, in his valuable Coup 
d’ceil sur les principales publications de Physiologic 
vegetale , refers to the researches of Uloth,* who found that 
twenty-four species of plants which had been placed in a cave 
in the centre of a glacier germinated after the lapse of six weeks. 
Lepidium ruderale and sativum , Sinapis alba , and Brassica 
Napus , had germinated ; and at the close of four months other 
crucifers and some grasses and leguminous plants had germi- 
nated also. Haberlandt found that of a number of seeds which 
had been exposed for four months to a temperature of 0° to 10° 
the following species flourished : rye, hemp, vetch, pea, mus- 
tard, camelina, two species of clover, and lucerne. The influ- 
ence of the withdrawal of air from seeds on their power of 
germination has also been studied by Haberlandt. He found that 
seeds after they had been placed in vacuo germinated as usual. 
A slight retardation was noticed in the case of the seeds of the 
oat, the beetroot, and a bean, which appear to require the air 
contained in their tissues. In three experiments 58, 32, and 
40 per cent, of the seeds germinated. 
* “ Flora,” 1875, No. 17. 
