COMPAKISON OF METHODS OK STOKING AND SHIPPING. 03 



lit Mobile. However, the greatest loss, iis shown by the gerniination 

 tests, was during the 123 days innnediatoly following. 



While seeds, like other living things, are capabK- of withstanding 

 quite unfavorable conditions for a consideral)le time without showing 

 any appreciable deterioration in vitality, still the forces destroying 

 vitalit}' are at work. When the turning point is once reached and can 

 be detected by germination tests, the decline is more noticeable and 

 death soon follows. 



The preceding tables show that the loss in \itality was very ditter- 

 ent in the different places. The conditions at Mo])ile, Ala.. ])roved to 

 be the most injurious, while those at Ann Arbor, Mich., were the 

 most conducive to longevity. These results, however, are given in 

 another i)art of this paper dealing with the effect of climate on the 

 vitality of seeds. The results are tabulated on pages IS and 28 and 

 represented diagrammatical ly on page 24, so that any further discus- 

 sion at this time is unnecessary. 



Likewise each table has been summarized, giving the average per- 

 centages of germination and the average percentages of the loss in 

 vitality of each sample of seed for both the first and second tests. 

 These averages include those of the three conditions of storage — trade 

 conditions, dry rooms, and l)asements— in l)oth envelopes and bottles. 



Naturally, the results of the second tests are of the greater impor- 

 tance, and, in order that the results may be readily compared and more 

 critically examined, they have been collected and tabulated herewith: 



T.\BLE XX\.—Arcra<je percentage uf germination and average percentages of loss in 

 vitalitg of tlie different kinds of seeds ivhen kept under different conditions. 



