The Effect of Long-Continued Soaking on Seed Germination

Following the procedure of the experiment on autolysis, four-ounce bottles were sterilized and fitted with two-holed stoppers in which were right-angled glass tubes for connection in series. Each series was filled with boiling water, when at room temperature, the water was saturated with carbon dioxide. Five whole seeds treated as follows: the dry seeds were immersed in sulphuric acid-potassium dichromate solution for two minutes, washed in 95 per cent alcohol, and washed in sterilized distilled water, then placed on the glass wool in the first bottle of the series. After remaining in the water for varying lengths of time up to three months, the water in bottle No. 1 was forced out with sterilized oxygen. The gas was kept saturated by the layer of water left in the glass wool. In from three to five days from 60 to 100 per cent of the seeds germinated. Some of the seedlings were allowed to remain in the bottles for several months, becoming twisted and bent to conform to the shape of the bottle but remaining green and healthy looking. Seeds of navy beans, peas, corn, and wheat, were used in the experiments.