10 MISCELLANEOUS PAPEKS. 



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(8) Seed submerged in water in a galvanized-iron bucket and stored 



on the roof of the laboratory building, as in No. 7. In this case the 

 water was not changed save to replace the loss due to evaporation. 



(9) The conditions for No. 9 were the same as those for No. 8, 

 except that air was forced into the water daily when not frozen solid. 



Samples of seed were taken from the different lots and tested for 

 vitality at irregular intervals throughout the time of storage, which, 

 in the former series, extended over a period of approximately thirteen 

 months and in the latter series over a period of little more than six 

 months. 



Experiments JVos. 1 and 5. — The seed which was submerged in water 

 and stored in the "chill room" showed no deterioration in vitality. 

 The results of the final tests gave a germination varying from 79.8 to 

 88 per cent. This is practicallv Nature's method of preserving the 

 vitality of the seed during the winter. 



Experiments JVos. 2 and 6. — The seed which was submerged in 

 water and stored at a temperature of 12° F. was all killed before the 

 spring following the date of storage. Soon after being placed in stor- 

 age the water was frozen solid and the seeds were embedded in a mass 

 of ice, in which condition they remained throughout the experiment, 

 a portion being cut out from time to time for germination tests. The 

 complete loss of vitality in these two lots of seed is attributed not to 

 the freezing directly, but to the thorough desiccation as a result of 

 the continuous low temperature. 



Experiments Wos. 3 and If.. — The samples of seed which were stored 

 in cloth bags at the temperatures of 32° to 34° F. and of 12° F. had, 

 for all economic purposes, entirely lost their vitality. The average 

 percentage of germination, as shown by the 37 tests made from each 

 of the two lots, was less than five-tenths of 1 per cent. 



Exjyeriment No. 7. — The seed which was submerged in water and 

 stored on the roof of the laboratory building, the water being changed 

 daily, showed a good percentage of germination when the last vitalit}^ 

 tests were made. If only a small quantity of seed is desired for the 

 spring planting and cold storage can not be readily secured, good 

 results may be obtained by this treatment; but it is much less certain 

 and probably more expensive than keeping the seed in cold storage, 

 and for this reason is not recommended. The success of this method 

 will likewise depend largely on the temperature of the water. 



Experiments Nos. 8 and 9. — On April 22, 1905, samples taken from 

 each of these two lots of seed showed a marked deterioration in vitalit3\ 

 Thoroughly mixed samples from No. S showed a vitality of only 58 

 per cent, while No. 9 had deteriorated to 14.3 per cent. 



