■Vol. VIII. No. 190. 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



255- 



■A QUICK AND THOROUGB GERMINA- 

 TION TEST FOR CORN. 



From time to time, articles have appeared in the 

 Agricuitaral News dealing with the subject of seed 

 "testing. Among these, attention may be drawn 

 ■specially to those in Vol. IV, Xo. 28, p. 153, and Vol. 

 VII, No. 172, p. 369. The importance of this subject 

 is often not fully recognized, and, as no steps are taken 

 to ascertain the germinating power of the seed used 

 ibr sowing crops, the failure of these to make a good 

 stand, and the consequent serious loss, are ascribed to 

 «intoward conditions in regard to soil or climate, or the 

 presence of pests, when, as a matter of fact, they are 

 Teally due to the low vitality of the seed employed. In 

 such cases, even if a second sowing is made where it is 

 needed, the stand is still imperfect because the seed, 

 Ijeing the same as that used at first, is itself imperfect ; 

 and, of course, there is the added loss in e.xpenditure on 

 the e.xtra seed and labour required. 



A good illustration of the loss attendant on the use of 

 seed with inferior geiminating power is given in Fftnnei-g' 

 JiaUetin, Xo. 2-53, of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, entitled ' The Germination of Seed-corn '. A.s 

 the title implies, the case especially dealt with is that of 

 Indian corn (maize). Here it is shown that many planters 

 m the United States Iiave been satisfied with seed which 

 possessed a germinating power of GO to S.5 per cent., when 

 such .seed can easily be selected to obtain a gei'mination 

 of 9-5 per cent. Accounts are given, further, of e.xperiments 

 ■which proved that tests, made in the way to be described 

 below, increased the stand by 13 7 per cent, which, calculated 

 on the average yield and yirice of corn in the United Stat:'s 

 for the years 1896 to 1906, would mean an increased annual 

 crop of about 298 million bushels, with a value of over 100 

 billion dollars. 



A quick method of thoroughly testing and selecting 

 good seed from a large quantity of .seed-corn is given in the 

 Bulletin referred to above. The usual method, namely that 

 of taking at random one or more lots, each containing one 

 hundred seeds, and finding the number in each lot that will 

 germinate, is satisfactory so far as it goes, but it does not give 

 any indication as to the way in which the best seed may be 

 found in the heap, nor does it supply information as to the 

 strength of the plant that the seed is capable of producing. 

 Both of these points can be elucidated by the method 

 described in the Bulletin, which is as follows. 



The best ears of seed-corn are selected to a number 

 greater than that which will be requireil to provide seed for 

 planting. From each ear, six grains are chosen and placeil 

 in a germinator in the ordinary way, care'being taken that 

 each lot of six can be identified subsequently with the ear of 

 corn from which it was removed. These are allowed to 

 remain in the germinator until the sprouts are about 1 .',- 

 inches long. At the end of that time, every lot is examined, 

 and, in cases where any of the six grains have failed to 

 germinate, or where the seedlings have 'grown badly, the 

 corresponding ear is rejected as far as sowing purposes are 

 concerned. On the other hand, ears which have yielded lots 

 of six grains which have successfully passed the test may be 

 relied upon to provide good seed, and consequently good 

 l^lants. 



It is evident that this method depends upon an 

 important fact, namely, that if a few grains from an 

 ■ear of corn are all capable of furnishing good, healthy 



seedlings, practically all the grains on that ear will be 

 capable of doing so. This fact has been proved by 

 careful experiment, and the recognition of it has 

 afforded a means of obtaining a speedy and thorough 

 test of seed-corn for planting purposes. 



A POSSIBLE SUBSTITUTE FOR JUTE. 



It has long been known that the fibre yielded by 

 an Indian plant known as Sida is of considerable 

 merit, and the Indian TextUe Journal for November 

 1908, discusses at length the possibility of its becoming 

 a substitute for jute. 



Several varieties of Sida are found in India, the common- 

 est being Sida rhoiiM.folia and S. varpinjoria ; others are 

 ^'. iKionkaefolM and S. cordifolin. Of these, .S'. rhomhifolM 

 and .v. cordifolia are said to yield the best fibre. ' The 

 efforts which have been made to extend the cultivation of 

 this plant have not been succe.ssful for several reasons, the 

 chief of which were certain difhculties connected with it.* 

 cultivation, and the stable position in the market of jute. 

 The chief of the dithculties of cultivation are the pnssessioa 

 of a hard seed, which will not germinate unless the coat has 

 previously been .softened, and the tendency of the plant to 

 form branche.s, the latter of which, of course, is a seriou.i 

 handicap in any attempt to gain its recognition as a fibro 

 plant. These dilHculties, however, are not insuperable. 

 The first can be overcome by pla.cing the seeds in 

 sulphuric acid for a time, or by passing them through 

 a machine of the kind that is used m the same connexion for 

 those of Java indigo, but as these methods are not of general 

 application, investigations have been made for the purpose 

 of finding one which can be adopted by everybody. As 

 a result, it has been discovered that germination can be 

 increased by soaking the seed in hot water tor a time — a very- 

 simple process. It is also suggested that a solution of the 

 problem may be possibly attbrded in another way, namely 

 by careful cultivation and selection. 



It has been proposed to try to overcome the second 

 dittieulty, that of a tendency to form branches, in a similar 

 manner, that is by careful cultivation and selection. A sim- 

 pler way of dealing with it has been found, however, in the 

 discovery, in Burma, of a straight-growing variety. 



The cellulose-content, and therefore the durability, of 

 some samples of Sida have been found to be superior to that 

 of juce, for it reaches a value of S3 per cent., placing this 

 fibre on a level with lihea and fiax. ilore generally, how- 

 ever, this value is nearer to that of jute, but it is possible 

 that the finer texture would lead to its replacing the better 

 kinds as well as to its being used for special purposes. 



An offset to the fact that samples of Sida have been 

 valued more highly than jute is afibrded by the circumstance 

 that the cost of its cultivation is greater. There is no reason 

 nevertheless, to suppose that the yield per acre cannot be 

 improved upon ; and, if this is so, it may be possible, in the 

 near future, definitely to place Sida on the market aa a fibre 

 plant. 



The amount of produce exported from Barbados during 

 the present year, up to July 29, is 10,032 tons of sugar and 

 63,698 puncheons of molasses and syrup. The quantities of 

 these which were produced in, and sent out of, the island 

 during the corresponding period of last year were 29,177 ton.s 

 and 48,070 puncheons, respectively. 



