In 1879, a botanist named William Beal was conducting his research at State Agricultural College - the land-grant college that would one day become MSU. The school focused on agricultural studies, and Professor Beal wondered how long seeds could remain viable underground. He buried 20 unsealed bottles of seeds mixed in a sandy soil, to be dug up several years apart. Beal knew the answer to this experiment might not come in his lifetime. He died in 1924, but the experiment continues, and researchers at MSU just dug up the most recent bottle this Spring. 

 

GUEST: Professor Frank Telewski, Professor of Plant Biology at Michigan State University

 

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