September, 1918] 



The Ottawa Naturalist 



53 



man finds it convenient to use the food stored in the 

 egg, so immense quantities of human food are 

 secured from the seeds of plants. Wheat, corn, peas, 

 beans and rice are a few of the more important 

 seeds used as food by man. 



To a farmer or a gardener seed means anything 

 used to produce a crop. From this point of view 

 the potato tubers put into the ground to produce a 

 crop of potatoes are regarded as seed. In one sense 

 all wheat is made up of the seeds of the wheat 

 plant, but when we speak of seed wheat we mean 

 it is to be sown for the production of a crop. 



There are certain qualities which seed must have 

 in order to produce a good crop. In the first place 

 it must be vital, that is, the little plant in the seed 

 must be alive and capable of starting to grow again 

 when given the proper conditions of moisture and 

 temperature. Although the little plant in the seed 

 is able to withstand conditions that would kill the 

 plant that bore it, yet certain conditions will kill it. 

 E.xtreme heat or cold will injure damp seed more 

 readily than it will seed that is dry. Heat injures 

 seed more readily than cold. Seeds should there- 

 fore be stored in a cool, dry place. While some 



kinds of seed remain vital for a long time, others 

 will live only a year or two. Seeds eighty years 

 old are said to have produced plants, but the stories 

 of wheat taken from the hands of Egyptian mum- 

 mies, producing plants are not authentic. 



Besides being careful to see that grain to be used 

 as seed will grow, it is necessary to examine it to 

 see that it does not contain the seeds of bad weeds. 

 Then, too, we should know its variety. The kinds 

 of wheat grown in Kansas are not suitable for 

 Canadian conditions and so it is with every crop. 

 It is necessary to choose a variety suited to the con- 

 ditions under which it is to be grown. There are 

 many other points to be taken into consideration in 

 choosing seeds to be used to produce a crop in 

 addition to its vitality, purity and variety. 



The seed is therefore to be regarded as a device 

 of the plant for propagating its kind. In fulfilment 

 of this function it is packed by the mother plant with 

 food material for the use of the little seedling. 

 Besides using seeds for the production of crops, man 

 uses them on account of the food material which 

 they contain as food for himself and for his animals. 



A LIST OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF THE 

 OTTAWA, ONTARIO, DISTRICT. 



By Clyde L. Patch. 



As a primary reason for publishing this list 

 I submit the following sentence from the check 

 list of the North American amphibians and 

 reptiles recently published by Drs. Stejneger and 

 Barbour: "There still is opportunity for valuable 

 field work to determine the precise distribution of 

 many of our most common species. 



Secondarily, I wish to aid in arousing an intelli- 

 gent interest in these plentiful but, owing to their 

 secretive and nocturnal habits, seldom seen animal 

 forms whose economic value is commonly unappre- 

 ciated. 



The species listed were all observed within a 

 radius of eighteeen miles of Ottawa, Ontario, and 

 indiv. duals of each were collected. 

 Necturus maculosus Mudpuppy. 

 Notophalmus v. viridescens Common Newt, 



(common). 

 Amb\)stoma jeffersonianum Jefferson Salamander, 



(most common). 

 Amb])stonia maculaium Spotted Salamander. 



Plethodon cinereus Red-backed Salamander; Dus- 

 ky Salamander, 2 color phases, (dusky 

 phase only). 



Eur^cea bilineata Two-lined Salamander. 



Biifo americanus American Toad. 



Pseudacris triseriata Swamp Trec-Frog. 

 (common). 



H])la crucifer Spring-Peeper. 



Hyla V. versicolor Tree Toad. 



Rana c. caniabrigensis Northern Wood-Frog. 



Rana caiesbiana Bullfrog. 



Rana clamitans Green Frog. 



Rana palustris Pickerel-Frog, (2 localities only). 



Rana pipiens Leopard-Frog, (most common). 



Rana seplentrionalis Mink-Frog, (rare). 



Storeria occipito-maculata Red-bellied Snake. 



Thamnophis s. sirtalis Garter Snake. 



Chelydra serpentina Snapping Turtle. 



Chr^sem^s m. marginala Western Painted Turtle. 



NOTE. Amphibians and reptiles from anv part 

 of Canada will be greatly appreciated if sent to the 

 writer at the Victoria Museum, Ottawa, Ont., ("an. 



