German Seed-Extracting Bstablislnncnt. 39 



germinate three parallel tests of each day's seed assortment, so 

 that any incorrect handling in the germination chamber can be 

 definitely established. If .all three tests are proportionate, the 

 particular assortment of seed is traced back to the cone-collector 

 and poor values are penalized or high values commended. If the 

 three tests turn out unequally new seeds of the same assortment 

 are on the seventh day at once put in, in order to determinie 

 definitely any mistakes in the drying process. 



The practical working out of several thousand germination 

 experiments at Eberswalde has confirmed the opinion of Haack 

 that in the case of fresh seed from good cones all the really useful 

 seeds have germinated in 7 days. For example, about 1,000 

 experiments in 1909 with seed from Pomerania showed, in the 

 best instance, 98.7 per cent, of genuinated seed after 170 germi- 

 nation hours ; at the Eberswalde seed establishment this is called 

 "germination energy," (contrary to those testing establishments 

 which compute the germination energy after a very much longer 

 time, — in a manner of little use for practical application). The 

 total result, achieved after 21 germination days, is called, at the 

 Eberswalde seed establishment, "germination capacity", (likewise 

 contrary to the testing establishments which continue observa- 

 tions up to the 43rd day). 



The average of all experiments with local seed from December 

 1908 to June 1909 gave a germination on the seventh day of 87.6 

 per cent., on the twenty-first day of 92.2 per cent. Therefore, in 

 the later weeks only 4.6 per cent, germinated, which has no 

 significance in practical plantation sowing. 



If the quality of the seed has been authentically established in 

 the germination chamber, it is thrown together according to its 

 germination quality (though naturally the different assortments 

 are kept separate) and also according to the principle that every 

 iforester who supplies cones can receive back the seed extracted 

 from his own cones. 



So much of the seed as is to be used early in the spring is 

 stored in suitable dry rooms, in little sacks holding about 66 

 pounds (30 kg). 



IX. The Granary. 



The dififerent lots of seed mentioned above, which are to be 

 used soon, are placed in this room, in little individual sacks. Its 



