Some Studies on the Germination of the Seed of 
Oryza Sativa. 
By 
Isaburo Nagai. 
With Plate IX and two Text-Figures. 
The present paper deals with some of the experimental results by which 
it is attempted to verify and to give some further data on the physiology of 
germination of the seed in Gramineae. Only a few phases, however, that are 
involved in the course of germination, are touched upon, and the experiments 
are conducted almost exclusively with the seed of Oryza sativa L., but for 
some phases Zea Mays L. and other seeds are studied. The subject will be 
treated in the following sections. 
(1) Röle of the selective-permeable septum of the seed covering in the 
viability of the seed. 
(2) The seat of the selective-permeable septum in the seed covering. 
(3) Role of oxygen in germination. 
(4) Effect of H and OH ions in germination. 
(5) Influence of extremes of temperature on the germinative power. 
I. Role of the Selective-Permeable Septum of the Seed Covering 
in the Viability of the Seed. 
According to the manner in which water is chiefly taken up, the seeds 
of higher plants may be classified into two types, namely, one in which water 
is absorbed through the seed covering which possesses the power of selective 
permeability but no significant water conduction by the micropylar opening ; 
the other, on the other hand, in which water is absorbed not only by diffusion 
through the seed covering but also directly by the opening (micropyle) into 
the seed. 
(Jour. Coll. Agric., Vol. TI, No. 3, 1916.] 
