Influence of Temperature on Soaking of Seeds. 87 
Pig. I. 
It appears from the above table that at all temperatures soaking 
the seed in excess of water very markedly decreases the number of 
plants produced and that this injurious effect increases progressively 
as the time of soaking is lengthened; and again we have the 
remarkable fact that the injurious effect becomes more pronounced 
as the temperature falls below 20°C. The total number of plants 
produced five weeks after sowing was 10, 23 and 31 out of 75 in the 
case of seeds soaked at 5°C, 10°C and 20°C respectively, while the 
control (75 seeds, not previously soaked) produced 54 plants. Above 
20 n C the injurious effect of soaking increases with temperature. 
This effect of the temperature during the soaking treatment 
upon the number of plants produced is reflected in the subsequent 
development of the plants that survive. 
The cause of the deleterious action of soaking seeds in 
water under certain conditions has not yet been cleared up by 
experimental work. There appear to be three plausible hypotheses 
in the field, viz. (1) that the injurious effect is due to disorganised 
