276 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



2. Isidore-Pierre ^ obtained almost identical results, and 

 ascertained, that, with a two-per-cent solution at 140° Fahren- 

 heit, the germinative power was retained by fifty-four per 

 cent of the seeds ; at 122° Fahrenheit, by sixty-three per cent 

 of the seeds. 



As will be seen, even from the brief presentation of viows 

 now given, the conditions of healthful germination belong to 

 two great classes : 1st, Those which depend on the seed, — 

 namely, ripeness, freshness, and soundness, together with in- 

 herited vigor of race ; and, 2d, Those which depend on the 

 surroundings, to wit, — moisture, warmth, and 0X3'-gen. With 

 a due regard to these conditions, and with a knowledge of 

 the peculiar management required by certain seeds, almost 

 all elements of uncertaint}^ are removed, so far as the mere 

 matter of germination is concerned. But there are many 

 undetermined questions which are now attracting attention, 

 respecting seeds, and which cannot be satisfactorily answered 

 at the j)resent time. Prominent among these questions I will 

 mention only two : 1st, The action of the so-called chemical 

 fertilizers upon germination ; and, 2d, The effect of tempora- 

 rily arresting germination. These questions, together with 

 the less practical, but no less important, ones of the changes 

 which the food undergoes in the seed during its ripening, 

 during its resting state, and during its germination, are being 

 diligently studied by many investigators. It would be, per- 

 haps, worth our while to deal with these matters, if we could 

 have two hours for our present task, instead of one ; and I 

 must therefore reluctantly pass by the researches of Borodin, 

 Pfeffer, and others, without notice, and proceed to the con- 

 sideration of seed-testing. 



SEED-TESTESrG. 



Although the examination of samples of seeds for the pur- 

 pose of determining their value is not a new thing, it is 

 only within a few years that it has been managed on a large 

 scale and in a systematic manner. In the present account 

 will be given certain facts respecting the routine of methods 

 now emploj'ed at Tharand at the Experiment and Seed-con- 

 trol Station, together with a brief description of the results 

 obtained at the Experiment Station in Connecticut, and by 

 Professor Beal in Michigan. 



1 Biedermann's Centralblatt, 1870, 10-362. 



