604 
On the Supposed Germinating 
[O&ober, 
VI. ON THE SUPPOSED GERMINATING POWERS 
OF MUMMY WHEAT. 
By Henry King-Parks. 
'ROM time to time the alleged power of Egyptian wheat 
to preserve its vitality for an indefinite period, so as 
to produce a plant when sown after the removal of 
the grains from the mummy cases of the ancient Egyptians, 
has given rise to much controversy. Several writers have 
asserted that the growth of mummy wheat in England is an 
established fadt ; others that, although the evidence is not 
conclusive, yet it is not improbable that wheat, under ceitain 
conditions, is capable of germination after the lapse of 
thousands of years ; whilst there are those who contend 
that the vitality of wheat is destroyed altei a brie 
period, and that there is no authentic record of mummy 
wheat germination. My objedt is to state fadts as I find 
them, instead of relying upon mere theory or assertions, and 
to give an impartial review of the pros and cons of the 
Now, first of all, it would, perhaps, be prudent to make 
some inquiry into the character of the natives of the 
country in which the mummy cases are procured. To then- 
discredit, be it said, the Arabs are represented by our popular 
writers upon Egypt as being a deceitful race. They are also 
in the habit of unrolling the mummies in search of coins, &c. 
They would thus have an opportunity of introducing grains 
of modern wheat into the mummy cases, and as it would be 
to their advantage to invest the mummies with as much 
interest as possible, it may reasonably be inferred that they 
would not scruple to deceive purchasers by false representa- 
tions. This fadt would not, of itself, be sufficient to discredit 
the reputed instances of mummy wheat germination unless 
supported by more tangible evidence. We will therefore 
analyse the records of a few of the best known cases of 
supposed germination to see whether the results justify the 
conclusion that the grains planted were genuine samples of 
mummy wheat. . , „ , , „ 
In a little book entitled “ Botanical Rambles the author 
states that during the process of unrolling a mummy at the 
British Museum many years ago, a few grains of wheat 
happened to fall out of the linen folds; these grains were 
picked up by a gentleman present, who planted them, and 
that although probably two or three thousand years had 
