He tried ninety-eight seeds, mostly different from mine, but he chose many large fruits, and likewise seeds, from plants which live near the sea; and this would have favoured both the average length of their flotation and their resistance to the injurious action of the salt-water.

On the other hand, he did not previously dry the plants or branches with the fruit; and this, as we have seen, would have caused some of them to have floated much longer.

The result was that 18/98 of his seeds of different kinds floated for forty-two days, and were then capable of germination.

But I do not doubt that plants exposed to the waves would float for a less time than those protected from violent movement as in our experiments.