7% 
’ BULLETIN OF THE BUSSEY INSTITUTION. 103 
as may be seen from the following table, which exhibits the composition 
of the ears of oat-plants collected at the different stages of growth, which 
are enumerated in the foot-note. 
PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF ANHYDROUS OAT-EARS. 
Period * 
C & CO. 
Ash free from 
Albuminoids. 
Carbohydrates, 
including fat. 
Cellulose. 
3.89 
3.67 
eS 
to © 
oOo 6 
As was just now seen to be the case with the broom-corn seeds, so here 
with the oats, the percentage proportion of cellulose in the dry matter 
of the ears diminishes constantly as the plants grow older. It sinks, 
namely, from 27%, in the ears which have just formed, at the time when 
the stem is shooting, to about 12% at the time of complete ripeness. 
The percentage of carbohydrates, on the contrary, increases from 56% at 
the beginning to nearly 67% at the time of ripeness. 
As Arendt is at pains to show, it does not appear that the cellulose in 
the ears changes to ‘‘ carbohydrates ’’ as the seeds ripen. On the contrary 
the absolute amount of cellulose in the ears remains pretty much the same 
from first to last, with a slight tendency to increase; but during the later 
stages of growth so large an amount of carbohydrates comes into the ears 
from the other parts of the plant that the relative proportion of cellulose 
is lessened. The significance of these statements may be seen from the 
following table which exhibits, — not the percentage composition of the 
ears, as above, — but the absolute amounts of the several constituents that 
are contained in a given number of ears harvested at the given periods. 
In other words this new table gives the number of grammes of cellulose, 
carbohydrates, ash, &c., that were contained in the ears taken from one 
thousand individuals of the oat plants. 
* The periods at which Arendt’s plants were collected for analyses were as 
follows, the first period being here omitted since no ears had at that time 
formed. 
II. Periop. Harvested June 30, shortly before the shooting up of the 
stems had ceased. Panicle still half enclosed in the upper leaf sheath. 
Ill. Periop. Harvested July 10, immediately after flowering. 
IV. Periop. Harvested July 21, when beginning to ripen. Seeds tolerably 
well developed and susceptible of being shelled, though still soft. 
V. Periop. Harvested July 31, when fully ripe. 
