Paper, 'Experiments in germination' by George John Romanes

Description

Romanes writes: 'The primary object of these experiments was to ascertain whether the power of germination continues in dry seeds after the greatest possible precautions have been taken to prevent any ordinary processes of respiration for practically any length of time. The method adopted was to seal various kinds of seeds in vacuum tubes of high exhaustion, and after they had been exposed to the vacuum for a period of fifteen months to remove them from the tubes and sow them in flower-pots buried in moist soil. In other cases, after the seeds had been in vacuo for a period of three months, they were transferred to sundry other tubes respectively charged with atmospheres of sundry pure gases or vapours (at the pressure of the air at time of sealing); after a further period of twelve months these sundry tubes were broken, and their contents sown as in previous case.'

Annotations in pencil and ink.

Subject: Botany / Biology

Received 2 October 1893 / 3 November 1893. Read 16 November 1893.

A version of this paper was published in volume 54 of the Proceedings of the Royal Society as 'Experiments in germination'.

Reference number

PP/22/24

Earliest possible date

1893

Physical description

Ink and graphite pencil on paper

Page extent

4 pages

Format

Manuscript