Place about 400 cc. of water in a 500 cc. beaker. To this add 1 cc. of formalin from the 

 burette. A small handful of oats will be sufficient for the individual experiment. Wrap the 

 oats in a piece of cheese cloth and immerse them for 30 minutes in a solution of formalin. 

 After treatment the seed should be spread out in a thin layer to dry. 



In order to determine whether or not the treatment has an effect upon the viability of 

 the seed it will be interesting to make a germination test of both the treated and the un- 

 treated seed. To make this test use a germinator as illustrated in Fig. 4, page 22. 



1. Report of individual results. 



(a) Treated seed, germination %. 



(b) Untreated seed, germination. ....... %. 



2. Report of class results. 



(a) Treated seed. Average per cent of germination as determined from the average of 

 individual reports %. 



(b) Untreated seed. Average per cent of germination as determined from the average 

 of individual reports %. 



3. (a) Does the seed swell when treated with formalin solution? (b) Would swelling of 

 the seed influence the rate of seeding? Explain. 



4. Does the formalin treatment injure the viability of the seed? 



5. Suppose that on account of some error you had reason to suspect that the viability 

 of the seed had been lowered in treating it for smut. How might you avoid serious conse- 

 quences of the mistake? 



6. How would you proceed to treat 10 bushels of seed oats? 



7. The loose and covered smut of oats, the covered smut of wheat, the covered smut 

 of barley, and the kernel smut of sorghum may all be treated effectively in a similar manner. 

 Why can corn smut not be successfully treated in this manner? (Warren's Elements of 

 Agriculture, page 254.) 



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