within six days, 92 percent of the plants finally showing more or less 
injury. On the other hand, hut 3 out of 100 kernels soaked for 19 
hours in kerosene were in condition to grow, and all the plants from 
these 3 were injured. 
Perplexing discrepancies of this sort were of rather frequent oc- 
currence in these experiments, and showed that one must apply the 
results with caution, keeping well within the limits of variation. In 
view of the observed effect of an overdose of kerosene on the young 
plant, as described in the earlier part of this article, it is important 
to note tliat no dwarfing or distortion of the corn plants was seen 
in any of these experiments. 
Crude Petroleum. — A series of tests made with 600 kernels of 
corn by soaking them in crude petroleum for various periods ranging 
from 5 minutes to 74 hours, gave us reason to believe that this sub- 
stance was too dangerous to be used in this way. No experiments 
were made, however, with the mere mixture of minimum quantities 
of petroleum with a gallon of corn. The same variable and discrepant 
results were reported here as in the experiments with kerosene, 14 
kernels growing out of 50, for example, which had been soaked for 
30 minutes, and 46 out of 50 which had been soaked for 19 hours. 
After 5 minutes' soaking, only 42 kernels grew out of 50 planted, and 
8 of the plants which appeared were injured. 
Oil of Lemon. — A good quality of oil of lemon,* as obtained at a 
local wholesale drug-store, was used in solution with ordinary alcohol 
at strengths of 1 part in 10 or 1 part in 3 of the oil to the alcohol. The 
seed was soaked in these mixtures for periods varying from 5 minutes 
to an hour. Two plantings were made with kernels treated by stirring 
3 ounces of the 10 percent solution thoroly into a gallon of the seed. 
Of 450 kernels treated in the various ways described, 95 percent ger- 
minated with virtually no injury to the plants. 
The only damage done to the seed in experiments with this mixture 
of lemon oil and alcohol appeared in two lots of 50 kernels each 
soaked in the 10 percent solution, one of them for 20 minutes and 
the other for 19 hours. In the first of these lots 16 kernels, and in 
the second lot 21 kernels, failed to grow. It was a perplexing fact 
that serious injury to the seed was thus reported by Mr. Kelly to 
have followed the use of a 10 percent solution for 20 minutes, while 
no harm resulted from a 10 percent solution applied for 30 minutes 
or for an hour, or from a 33 percent solution applied for 20 minutes 
or for 30 minutes. It appeared safe to conclude, however, that a 10 
percent solution used merely to moisten the seed, say, at the rate of 
3 ounces to the gallon of corn, might be applied without risk of injury 
to the seed ; and our field experiments were made, later in the season, 
on this basis. 
Other vegetable oils. — Oil of wintergreen, oil of cloves, and oil 
of sassafras were tested, each with 400 kernels, divided into eight 
*Tlie brand and manufacturer of fliis sample could not be learned later, when it became 
iMi|iiii taiil to know just how the results of these experiments were obtained. 
