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centage of sprouting. Causes which determine the viability and 

 vigor of seeds are either congenital, or due to the conditions of 

 harvesting or storing. The expression or measure of this viabilit}- 

 and vigor is again determined b}^ the conditions of germination. 

 In the present investigation, with the exception of studies of the 

 relations of weight and color to sprouting, on^^ the conditions of 

 germination have received attention. Seeds can be so readily se- 

 lected in reference to weight and color, that it was thought advi- 

 sable to stud}'^ these phases of the subject in connection with condi- 

 tions which may be fully controlled by the operator. 



The importance of seed-testing is obvious, yet its value is appa- 

 rentl}^ commonly misapprehended. Its primary value is the de- 

 termination of the vitality of a given sample. This testing, ex- 

 cept in rare instances, should be conducted by the grower himself 

 The proper work for the experiment station is that of determining 

 the best methods and conditions of testing each species and va- 

 riety ; in other words, it seems that the sphere of the stations is to 

 discover and announce laws and rules, rather than to perform the 

 petty tests for the multitude. Merely testing seeds for the purpose 

 of determining how many will grow, is surely not experiment, 

 and the publication of disconnected tests seems to be entirely un- 

 profitable. The endeavor to determine the relative merits and 

 honesty of .seedsmen, by means of testing their seeds, is the merest 

 folly. 



There appears to be no necessity for seed-control stations in this 

 country, certainly not for such seeds as fall to the hands 

 of the horticulturist. The control stations of the Old World 

 have sufficiently exposed the tricks of. .seedsmen, and have 

 rendered open dishonesty unprofitable. There is now such 

 sharp competition in the seed business that seedsmen themselves 

 must exercise every caution in order to demand trade. Improved 

 methods and apparatus for harvesting and cleaning are giving us 

 clean samples. The greatest risk in the purchase of seeds is the 

 possibility that inferior strains or varieties may be procured, but 

 .this is a risk which the control station could not assume to govern, 

 inasmuch as the substitution becomes apparent only when the crop 

 is grown. The experiment stations may be expected to influence 

 sufficient control in the seed business, as occasion shall require. 



The tests enumerated in the following pages have been con- 

 ducted with the greatest care. Unless otherwise recorded, they 

 have been made in a steam-heated forcing-house. As a rule, they 



