238 Journal of Agricultural Research vol. xx. N0.3 



Interesting data were obtained as the result of an experiment origi- 

 nally intended to show the relation between the moisture content of the 

 seed and the degree of injury upon drying. Samples of wheat and 

 barley were treated with a 0.1 per cent solution for 10 minutes, drained 

 10 minutes, and allowed to dry partially by spreading on towels for an 

 hour. At the end of that time about 70 cc. were sealed in a small screw- 

 top bottle, and the rest were allowed to continue drying. Equal quan- 

 tities were removed from the drying lot daily for four days and sealed, 

 the object being to get samples of different moisture content so stored 

 as to insure constant humidity in the bottles. It was found that constant 

 weight was reached after two or three days' exposure to laboratory air. 

 The moisture percentage of each sealed sample was obtained by drying 

 in an electric oven at 95 ° C. Samples from each bottle were germinated 

 after various intervals, and the injury shown by each was compared by 

 means of germination percentages and rate-of-growth observations. 

 Tables XIII and XIV summarize the results of several experiments. 



The data in Table XIII show that none of the samples were injured 

 by the drying period which preceded their being sealed. This was due, 

 no doubt, as explained earlier in this paper, to the fact that they were 

 spread thinly and, therefore, were well aerated. In the second place, it 

 shows, surprisingly enough, that the subsequent injury from being sealed 

 did not bear a direct relation to the moisture content of the seed, as had 

 been expected. After 21 days' storage samples sealed wet immediately 

 after treatment and those sealed after 1 hour's drying were uninjured. 

 This was to be expected, for they contained too much moisture to permit 

 the formation of paraformaldehyde. But in all germination tests made 

 after 6 or more days' storage those samples dried for 10, 20, and 30 hours 

 before sealing showed extreme injury, while those dried longer were less 

 injured. Seed dried 72 hours before sealing was nearly as free from injury 

 as the uninjured, damp seed. This lesser injury to the samples dried 

 for the longer periods seemed so puzzling that the experiment was re- 

 peated, twice with wheat and once with barley, with the same results. 



The data in Table XIV again show that, although no injury resulted 

 from these various drying intervals, yet when the seed was sealed there 

 was extreme injury after 5^2 , 9, and 24 hours' drying, after 48 hours 

 slight injury (retarded plumules), and after 72 hours practically no injury. 

 The maximum injury occurred in seed dried 5^2 and 9 hours, respectively, 

 decreasing steadily with the longer drying periods of the other samples. 

 This shows particularly well in the germinations of seed in soil, where the 

 weak and injured seedlings, called "germinated" on the blotters, did 

 not reach the surface of the ground and so particularly emphasized the 

 injury to the 5^- and 9-hour samples. Elsewhere in this paper it has 

 been noted that blotter germinations suffice to show comparative injuries 

 and to indicate the deformity and retardation of the seedlings; but, 



