770 Journal of Agriculture. [lo Dec, 1910. 



To the Railway Departments and conveyors generally, giving them 

 an opportunity to protect perishable goods from impending rain, 

 heat or cold. 

 To growers, by notice of impending frosts, &c., and finally to the 

 shipping companies, underwriters, and marine travelling public. 

 It should, however, be realized that Australia is a huge area with 

 various physiographical features, and, further, limitation of time, of in- 

 formation and of facilities of transmission only permit the forecasts at pre- 

 sent to be framed in general terms. In New South Wales and in South 

 Australia, the metropolitan press, by the publication of the daily isobaric 

 chart, enables the individual, after comparatively short experience, to fore- 

 cast more accurately for himself, having a knowledge of local peculiari- 

 ties and the effect of physical obstructions during the passages of distur- 

 bances. It is hoped that the country residents in the other States may 

 shortly be similarly catered for. With regard to Victoria, I am happy 

 to say that an influential and largelv circulated Melbourne paper is, at 

 the present time, favourably considering the possibility of giving us the 

 space for such a map. 



THE NATURE AND USES OF HARD SEEDS. 



Bertha Rees, Government Research Bursar. 



All agriculturalists are familiar with the fact that in samples of many 

 seeds belonging to the Bean family i^Le gummosa), there is found a certain 

 proportion which is not capable of germination without treatment of some 

 kind. If soaked in water, these seeds will not swell as do those which 

 are freely germinable, and it is owing to this fact that they are commonly 

 known as hard .seeds. The number of such hard seeds present in samples 

 varies considerably, and appears to be influenced by climate and environ- 

 ment. For example, Lucerne {Medicago sativa) contains an average of 

 10 per cent, of hard seeds but I have examined samples from Hunter 

 River containing over 50 per cent., and again Lucerne from Arizona may 

 contain as much as 90 per cent. 



It appears, in fact, that plants which have this tendency produce a 

 higher percentage of hard seeds when grown in a dry climate than when 

 grown in a moist one, and similar differences occur in the harvest of seed 

 from the same locality according to whether the season is a moist or dry 

 one. To some extent, the effect of a dry season may be compensated by 

 harvesting the seed at a slightly earlier stage than usual, but this requires 

 care and judgment, since if the seeds are unripe the percentage of germi- 

 nation may be very low even although no hard seeds are present. The 

 various Clovers {Trifolium) usually contain an average of 8 to 13 per 

 cent, of hard seeds, but as is the case in Lucerne, the number may be 

 considerably greater. The Acacias (Wattles) produce hard seed in greal; 

 abundance and in this group the maximum of resistance appears to le 

 reached. 



Plants which produce hard seeds are not confined to the order 

 Leguminosce although they occur most commonly in it. They are found 

 also in the Mallow family {Malvacece), which includes some species of 

 Hibi.scus, Abutilon, &c., and in one plant belonging to the Salt-bush 

 family {Chenofodiacece) called White Goosefoot {Chenof odium album) 

 which is a ^'erv troublesome weed. Another familiar instance of hard 

 seed occurs in ordinary Canna {Canna indica), the rounded black seeds of 

 which are often called " Indian Shot." 



