Feb. 3 ,1923 Water Content of Barley Kernels During Growth 
335 
SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS 
In papers previously published it has been pointed out that various 
phenomena occur with remarkable uniformity during the development 
of the barley kernel. The length, lateral diameter, and dorso-ventral 
diameter increase, attain their maximum, and decrease toward maturity 
Fig. 2.—Average length, lateral diameter, and dorsoventral diameter of kernels of Baku barley at Aber¬ 
deen, Idaho, in 1919. 
in very definite order. The wet weight increases rapidly and- then 
decreases, as does the total water. The percentage of water decreases 
very uniformly from flowering to maturity. In the previous studies, 
where the unit has been the spike, maturation has occurred when about 
42 per cent of water is present in the spike. This was necessarily an 
average figure which included kernels well past maturity and kernels 
which had not yet ceased to function. As may be seen in figure i, the 
length of the Jet variety, in 1920, was reached by 9 days after flowering, 
