THE FORMATION OF FORESTS 109 
Good seeds should fill their outer coat, should 
have a good rich color, should have a healthy smell, 
and should look fresh and living when cut in half. 
In many instances good seeds will sink, while bad ones 
float. Sow one hundred seeds in a flower-pot or box 
containing good soil. Water enough, but not too 
much. Keep the box in a warm place. Pull out 
and count all that germinate. In this way it is 
possible to approximate what may be expected else- 
where. 
A better way is to place a certain number of 
seeds on a piece of porous paper in a plaster-of-Paris 
dish about six inches square. This dish should be 
set in a shallow pan or plate of water. Cover the 
whole with a bell jar. Keep in a warm place, and 
by the number which sprout the quality of the seed 
may be easily determined. 
The following relating to seed-testing is from an 
article by Johannes Rafn in the Danish Tidsskrift 
for Skovvaesen (Chronicle of Forestry), and the 
Transactions of the Royal Scottish Arboricultural 
Society: 
Mr. Rafn is a seed-dealer, and we more than 
agree with him when he says that “‘ this world is not 
nearly as good as it ought to be, and it happens, there- 
fore, in years when seed is searce, that old seed is 
put on the market, and very often at doubled prices, 
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