SOME STUDIES OF THE GERMINATION OF THE SEED OF ORYZA SATIVA. 153 
nating power is observed after exposure to —190°C for 130 hours. Injury 
took place, however, if the seed was not desiccated. 
Warte (1909) subjected the seeds of wheat, barley, oats, rye and maize 
to liquid air for fully two days and found that these seeds were not practi- 
cally affected in the power of germination. She found also that the enzymes 
contained in the seeds are not at all affected. The enzymes present within 
the resting seeds of the five different genera of cereals employed are 
not destroyed when thoroughly dried seeds are subjected to the extraordi- 
narily wide range of temperature of —200°C to +120° C., ie. a range of 
320° C. 
The following experiments were made: The desiccated and air-dried 
grains of Oryza and Zea were exposed to 97°—98°C for two hours, and the 
germinative power was tested. 
The grains of Oryza, Zea and the seeds of Fagopyrum were put in 
small muslin bags and allowed to stay in liquid air, which was kept in a 
vacuum jacketed tube wrapped in cotton rugs. The length of time of ex- 
posure to the low temperature was not certain, for the liquid air was found 
to be evaporated at the time of the last examination, but could not have 
been less than six hours. The results of the experiments are given in the 
following table. 
TABLE XII. The effect of extremes of temperature. 
Percentage of germination 
eed ee After liquid| After high| Gynteo] 
air temp. 
Zea Mays, white Dent. desiceated 92.8 0 100 
” ” » Ay air-dried 85.0 0 100 
- » yellow Dent. desiccated 100.0 0 100 
” ” FF a air-dried 91.6 0 100 
# » blue Flint re | 100.0 | 0 100 
Fagopyrum esculentum P | 90.0 bag 90 
Oryza sativa “ Chiba-nishiki ” unhulled, desiccated 90.0 — 100 
” 9 A: hulled air-dried 100.0 — 100 
* "The experiment not performed. 
