G E R 
G £ R 
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tlic earfh, in a convenient foil, amongfl matter proper 
tor tlie formation of vegetables, would germinate, grow 
up, and replenilli the face of the earth. Woodward. 
GERMJNA'TION, /! [French.] 'I'he act of fprOiit- 
ing or fliouting ; growth.—Supj.ofe the earth (hould be 
carried to th.e great ditt.ance of Saturn ; there the whole 
globe would be one frigid zone ; there would be no 
lite, no germination. Bentley. 
Botanitls and agricuUurilts find, tliat different feeds 
employ certain given lengths of time in germinating, 
after being committed to the earth. 
The germination of phyits forms a very interefling de¬ 
partment of vegetable phyfiology ; and the e.xteniive 
progrefs of chemical experiments, has of late thrown 
conliderable light upon this curious fubjeift. In 1793, 
IM. Humboldt difeovered, that limple metallic fub- 
Ifances are very unfavourable to the germination of 
pl.ints, while metallic oxyds favour it iis proportion to 
their degree of oxydation. This fa6f induced him to 
fearch for a fublfance witli which oxygen might be fo 
weakly combined as to be ealily feparated, and he made 
choice of oxygenated muriatic acid gas mixed with wa¬ 
ter. The feeds of crelfes foaked in the oxygenated 
muriatic acid, fliewcd germs at the end of fix lionrs, 
and in common water at the end of thirty-two hours. 
The action of the firlf fluid on the vegetable fibges is 
announced by a great number of air bubbles which, co¬ 
ver the feeds, a phenomenon not exhibited by water 
till at the end of from thirty to forty-five minutes. 
Thefe experiments, announced in Humboldt’s Flora 5 uh- 
terranca Fribergenfis, and in his Aphorifms on the Chemi¬ 
cal Phyliology of Plants, have been repeated by others. 
They were made at a temperature of from 12 to 15 of 
Reaumur. In tlie fummer of 1796, Humboldt began a 
new leries of experiments, and found that by joining 
the fiimulus of caloric to that of oxygen, he was en¬ 
abled ftill more to accelerate the progrefs of vegetation. 
He took the feeds of garden crelfes, peafe, French 
beans, garden lettuce, and mignonette, equal quantities 
of which wero thrown into pure water and the oxygen¬ 
ated muriatic acid at a temperature of 88° Fahrenheit. 
Crelfes exhibited germs in three hours in the oxygena¬ 
ted muriatic acid, wliile none were feen in water till 
the end of twenty.fix hours. In the muriatic, nitric, 
or fulphuric, acid, pure or mixed with water, there 
was no germ at all ; tlie oxygen feemed there to be too 
intimately united with bafes of azot or fulphur, to be 
difengaged by the affinities prefented by the fibres of 
the vegetable. The author announces, that thefe dil- 
coveries, if purfued, may one day prove of great bene¬ 
fit in the cultivation of plants. His experiments have 
therefore been repeated with great induftry and zeal by 
icveral diflinguilhed philofophers. Profelfor Pohl at 
Drefden caufed to germinate in oxygenated muriatic 
acid the feed of a new kind of euphorbia, taken from 
Bocconi’s colledtion of dried plants, one hundred and 
twenty years old. Jacquinand Vander Schott at Vienna 
threw into oxygenated muriatic acid all the old feeds 
which had been kept twenty or thirty years at the bo¬ 
tanical garden, every attempt to produce vegetation i,n 
which had been fruitlefs, and their latent germinating 
powers were for the moft part ffimtilated with fticcefs. 
Even the hardefi: feeds yielded to this agent. Among 
thole which germinated were the yellow bonduc or 
nickar tree {guilandina bonduc), the pigeon cytifus or pi¬ 
geon pea {cytifus cajan), the dodonaa angujlifolia, the 
climbing mimofa {rnimofa fcandens), and fd^ue new kinds 
of the homtea, '1 here arc now fhewn at Vienna very 
valuable plants, which are entirely owing to the oxy¬ 
genated muriatic acid. Humboldt caufed to germinate 
the clufia rofea, the feeds of wjiich had been brought 
from the Bahama iflands by Boofe, and which before 
had refifted every efidrt to make them vegetate. For 
this purpofe he employed a new procefs, which feems 
Ijkelv to be much ealier for gardeners who have not an 
VoL.Vm. No,523. 
opportunity of procuring oxygenated muriatic acid r 
He formed a pafbe by mixing the feeds w'ith the black 
oxyd of manganefe, and then poured over it the mu¬ 
riatic acid diluted with water. 'I’hree cubic inches of 
Water were mixed with half a cubic inch of the muri¬ 
atic acid. 'I'he velfel wjiich contains this mixture muff 
be covered, but not clofely Ihut ; elfe it might readily 
burfi. At the temperature of 95° the muriatic acid 
becomes lirongly oxydated ; the oxygenated muriatic 
gas which is difengaged paffes through the feeds ; and 
it is during this paffage that irritation of the vegetable 
fibres takes place. 
]\I. Saufl'urc has alfo recently ptibliflied fome curious 
refearches on the influence which oxygen gas has on the 
germination of plants. The greater part of naturalifts, 
fays lie, who have examined the influence of atmo- 
fpheric air on germination, have perceived, that when 
feeds are placed in contaci witli water and pure 
azotic gas they do not germinate ; and that there is a 
produillion of carbonic acid, whicli, mixing itfelt with 
the azotic gas, increafes the volume of the atmofphere 
of the plant. They have feen that, when oxygen g.is is 
fubfliiiited in the preceding experiment for .izotic g.as, 
there is alfo a produtdion of carbonic acid gas ; but 
that the atmofphere of the plant decreafes, and that 
the oxygen gas is abfotbed. He made feveral experi¬ 
ments to difeover what takes place in thefe operations. 
The following are the refults ; 
1. The atmofpheric oytygen gas is not abforbed by 
the feed in the att of germination, as feems liitherto to 
liave been admitted, but is employed merely to form 
carbonic acid gas with the carbon of the feed. 2. 1 he 
feed in germination does not, by the contact of the at¬ 
mofpheric air, form carbonic acid gas from its own ftib- 
ftance, btit only ftirniflies one of the conflituent parts of 
that gas, viz. carbon. 3. It furnifhes the oxygen and 
car’oon from its own ftibllance in the carbonic acid gas, 
which it produces when it is in coutaibd only with water 
and pure azotic gas. 
Spallanzani alfo examined this fubjedl with confide- 
rable attention. He concludes from his experiments : 
I. That the leaves and tops of vegetables, when the 
rays of the fun dart upon them, increafe the proportion 
of the oxygen gas of the atmofpheric air. 2. I hat this 
augmentation is not fo confiderablc as has been believed. 
3. 'Fhat the fame parts of vegetables dimiiuflt the oxy¬ 
gen gas during the night, and cloudy days, by trans¬ 
forming it continually though flowly into carbonic acid. 
4. 'I'liat the flowers, whether in the fun or ffiade, have 
more power to diminifh the quantity of vital air or oxy¬ 
gen gas. 5. That fruits have the lame etieills in this 
relpeCd as flowers. 
Dr. G. Thilow has lately confirmed the difeovery of 
Ingenhouz, that oxygen has a powerful influence on 
vegetation. 'I'he author’s experiments were the two 
following;—iff. A weak fickly dwarf-tree was be- 
fjirinkled with a mi.xture of oil of vitriol and watei. 
The plant-lie©, which rendei'ed the plant fickly, foon 
difappeared, and the plant fpeedily revived. 2d, A 
finall layer of an auricula by the lame means, in tue 
period of fcarcely tliree w'eeks, was brought to a tonli- 
derable flzeand full bloom ; and this experiiueiit w oulc- 
probably have lucceeded in a fiiorter period, had not 
the expanfion of the plant been retarded by two nights 
, -If 
GER'MISCH, a town of Germany, in the circle of 
Bavaria, and bifhopric of Freyfing : twenty-one miles 
fouth of Weilhaim. 
GER'MON (Bartholomew), a celebrated French Je- 
fuit, born at Orleans, in 1663. He applied with great 
afliduity to his fludies, and acquired conliderable lepu- 
tation by his proficiency in the learned languages, his 
knowledge of antiquities, and of theology. He engaged 
in a long conteft with fathers Mabillon and Coiiftant, 
both belonging to the congregation ot St. Maur, on the 
° 6T fubjcA 
