The amount of energy dissipated in the form of heat in the metabolic processes carried on during the initial period of the germination of wheat seeds was determined directy by means of an adiabatic microcalorimeter. The total energy simultaneously liberated in the respiration of the investigated seeds was calculated from the carbon-dioxide production. The proportion of total energy released in respiration to the amount of energy dissipated as heat indicates that about 5 per cent of respiratory energy is retained in the tissues of growing seedlings. The percentual rate of energy dissipated is not dependent on the temperature or the age of seedlings.