28 THE VITALITY AND GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 



of samples the counts for the vitality tests were begun within an hour 

 from the time the seeds were removed from the ice house. Thus, the 

 conclusions for these experiments must be drawn chiefly from the sec- 

 ond series of tests. However, comparisons will be made with the 

 first where such seem justifiable. 



It will at once be seen that the seeds which were in paper packages 

 gave a much lower percentage of germination than either the control 

 samples or those kept in bottles. The average germination of the 

 controls was 84.9 per cent, and the average germination of the seeds 

 kept in bottles was 87.6 per cent, while only 62.1 percent of the seeds 

 kept in paper packages germinated. This is equivalent to a loss in 

 vitality of 24.3 and 27 per cent, respectively, as compared with the 

 vitality of the control samples and the samples from the bottles. The 

 results of the first tests are practically the same, save that the differ- 

 ences between the control and the bottle samples are less marked. In 

 the second case the average vitality of the seeds kept in envelopes was 

 much reduced by the complete failure to germinate in the case of the 

 beans, which are most susceptible to the deleterious action of moisture 

 at the given low temperature. 



One of the most important points brought out by these experiments 

 is the result obtained with onion, cabbage, and watermelon seeds. In 

 both the first and the second tests the germination varied but little 

 throughout. However, in all cases the seeds in the paper packages 

 were slight!} 7 injured by the action of the moisture. .This factor is of 

 much importance, especially in the case of the onion seed, which, 

 when kept in a moist atmosphere at normal temperatures, soon loses 

 its vitality, but when maintained at temperatures slightly below 

 freezing it becomes very resistant to the action of moisture. The 

 beans, on the other hand, were all killed, although they are ordinarily 

 much more hardy than onion seed. It is quite probable, however, 

 that the death of the beans may be attributed to the reduction in tem- 

 perature. Containing as they do large quantities of starch, they 

 absorb more water than less starchy or more oily seeds. This factor, 

 together with the large embryo, renders them much more susceptible 

 to the injurious action of freezing temperatures. 



Another important feature brought out by these experiments was 

 the better germination of the seeds which had been stored in bottles 

 in the ice house. The average germination of these samples was 2.7 

 per cent higher than that of the control. In a measure this may be 

 included within the limits of variation; but when it is considered that 

 all of the bottle samples except the beans, tomato, and lettuce showed a 

 vitality equal to or greater than the control, it can hardly be considered 

 as a normal variation, especially since only the lettuce gave any marked 

 variation in favor of the control. Likewise, the average percentages 



