52 



It was supposed that the weevils would develop in the cowpeas 

 after they were taken from cold storage and subjected to a higher 

 temperature, but in no case did the weevils ever develop, not even 

 in the samples which were taken from cold storage May 1, 1903, less 

 than two months from the time they were first put into the cold- 

 storage room. 



The samples from cold storage Avere tested again for germination 

 March 11, 1005, two years after the beginning of the experiment. 

 The results of the germination tests are shown in Table II, together 

 with the approximate time the samples were in cold storage and the 

 time they were subsequently stored in the seed laboratory. 



Table II. — Percentages of gemination of cowpeas stored at various places at a 

 temperature varying from 33" to 34° F. for from two to twenty months, and 

 then in seed laboratory at a temperature varying from 60° to S0° F. for from 

 four to twenty-two months J' 



a Seeds placed in cold storage March 7, 19(J3; tested Mai-ch 11, 1905. 



'' Durations of storage here given are approximate only, varying slightly from actual number 

 of days of storage. 



Table II shows that the vitality of the samples remained practi- 

 cally uniform, regardless of the length of time they were kept in 

 cold storage. This fact should clear up any doubts, which so many 

 seedsmen have entertained, that seeds kept in cold storage would de- 

 teriorate very rapidly if afterwards subjected to atmospheric changes 

 of temperature. The results, it is true, are somewhat lower than 

 those given in Table I, and the average percentages of germination 

 are likewise lower than the germination of the original control 

 sample. But this must be considered as a natural deterioration, 

 inasmuch as the peas at the time of this test were two and one-half 

 years old. The test showing the lowest percentage of germination, 

 No. 8, was from Jacksonville. When this sample was received it 

 bore indications of being damaged by moisture, and the test made at 

 that time (November 1, 1901) showed a vitality of only 50 per cent. 



There was, however, a marked difference in the color of the cow- 

 peas. The earlier samples taken from cold storage had darkened 



