6oo 
Notes. 
The dozen seeds experimented upon by Messrs. Brown and 
Escombe, which were submitted to the temperature of liquid air, were 
apparently selected as belonging to different natural families, and also 
in some degree as to their composition k My choice was much more 
restricted. I took two out of their list for the sake of comparison : 
barley and vegetable marrow. I added wheat, which had more than 
once been made the subject of experiment. This gave me two 
farinaceous seeds and one oily one. I then took shape and bulk into 
account. Wheat and barley are roughly ellipsoidal and medium 
in size. The vegetable marrow is relatively large but flattened. 
I therefore added another oily seed, mustard, which is small and 
spherical. I followed Messrs. Brown and Escombe in taking a pea, 
which is also spherical in shape but nitrogenous in composition. 
Finally, I sought a very minute seed, and pitched upon musk. 
The list then ultimately stood : — 
Bras sic a alba. 
Pisum sativum. 
CAicurbita Pepo. 
Mimulus moschatus. 
Triticum sativum. 
Hordeum vulgare. 
The next point seemed to be to eliminate the source of error which 
might arise from defective germinative power. I therefore communi- 
cated the list to Messrs. Sutton & Sons, of Reading, and asked 
their assistance. With their invariable kindness in any scientific 
inquiry, they willingly complied, and sent the samples required, with 
the following report : — 
‘ We now have pleasure in sending a packet of each of the seeds 
you name. They are all of last year’s growth, and of good 
germination. 
‘ For your information we append the germinations arrived at by 
our tests made in March last of the various parcels from which these 
samples are taken. 
‘ We have no doubt that each grain of wheat is a germinating seed, 
as specially fine seeds have been picked out. 
‘ In the case of musk a good growth was obtained, but the germination 
was not counted. 
Roy. Soc. Proc., vol. Ixii, p. 161. 
