694 Miller. — A Physiological Study of the 
oily seeds differ from those which contain starch in that they absorb during 
germination a larger volume of oxygen than they produce carbon dioxide. 
Letellier ( 2 ), while working in the laboratory of Boussingault, found 
that the oil contained in oily seeds diminished as the germination progressed. 
His data for the seeds and seedlings of rape and madia are as follows :— 
Madia. Rape. 
Oil in 1 gram of seeds.0-41 0-50 
Oil in 1 gram, roots 3 cm. in length .... 0-39 0*43 
Oil in 1 gram, roots 10-12 cm. in length . . . 0-18 0*28 
• From the work of these two investigators it was thus definitely estab¬ 
lished that the oil in seeds is a storage product and subserves the same 
purpose as the reserve carbohydrates, although the chemical processes in 
the utilization of these classes of substances are different. 
Hellriegel ( 3 ) in 1855 made the most extensive and thorough investiga¬ 
tions on the germination of oily seeds up to his time. He worked only 
with the seedlings of the rape, but examined his material at five different 
stages and thus obtained an idea of the changes which take place from the 
beginning of germination to the time when the seedling had cast off the 
seed-coat. He found that at first the seedlings increased in weight, but in 
a short time there was a gradual decrease. He found that the oil decreased 
from 47 % in the seed to 36 % in the oldest seedlings, and at the same time 
the sum of the sugar, organic acid, and tannin increased from 7-7 % to 15*4 %• 
He observed that the seeds contained 3*4 % of cane sugar, and that during 
the early stage of germination it disappeared and was replaced by glucose. 
He concluded that during the early stage of germination the cane sugar 
present in the seed is transformed into glucose, and that this is used at once 
by the young radicle. He believed at the beginning of germination an 
absorption of oxygen takes place and thus increases the weight of the seed¬ 
ling. At a later stage the oil undergoes a breaking down. The seedling 
transforms, on the one hand, part of its oil into carbon dioxide and water by 
the oxidation of the constituent carbon and hydrogen, and obtains thereby 
the necessary energy for its growth ; on the other hand, it takes up a further 
quantity of oxygen which is incorporated into its residual constituents. 
These two processes combine to produce some compound which is rich 
in oxygen and from which by further splitting glucose is formed. 
Sachs ( 4 , 5 ) in 1859 and in 1863 made a very detailed study of the pro¬ 
ducts of oily reserves during germination. He investigated in a micro¬ 
chemical way the seeds and seedlings of Ricinus communis , Helianthus 
annuus , Cucurbita Pepo , Amygdalus communis , Allium Ccpa , and numerous 
others. Sachs concluded from the investigations that the oil in seeds was 
transformed during germination wholly or partly into starch. According 
to his view, in some seedlings all of the oil was transformed into starch, 
while in others only part of the oil was changed into starch and the 
