COMPARISON OF METHODS OF STORING AND SHIPPING. 45 



Giglioli" goes so far as to say: 



There is no reason for denying the possibility of the retention of vitality in seeds 

 preserved during many centuries, such as the Mummy wheat and seeds from Pompeii 

 and Ilerculaneum, provided that these seeds have been preserved from the begin- 

 ning in conditions unfavorable to chemical change. * * The original dryness 

 of the seeds and their preservation from moisture or monst air must be the very 

 first conditions for a latent secular vitality. 



Some of the earliest suggestions for storing seeds in quantity were 

 made by Clement and Fazy-Pasteur, and were reported by Aug. Pyr. 

 De Candolle in his Physiologic Vegetale. Clement suggested the use 

 of large cast-iron receptacles, made impervious to air and water, the 

 well-dried seeds to be poured in through an opening at the top, after 

 which the opening should be hermetically sealed and the seeds with- 

 drawn through an iron pipe and stopcock at the bottom of the tank. 

 The scheme of Fazy-Pasteur was to store seeds in wooden boxes well 

 covered with tar. This method was especially applicable to small 

 quantities of seeds, and was used to a limited extent at that time, but, 

 so far as has been ascertained, it has long since been discarded. The 

 keeping of seeds in large iron tanks, as suggested by Clement, has 

 never been practiced to any extent. It seems quite possible, however, 

 that the present "tank" grain elevator, now so universally used, might 

 readily be modified in such a way as to make the method suggested by 

 Clement quite practicable. 



THE NECESSITY FOR THOROUGHLY CURING AND DRYING SEEDS. 



In addition to being well matured and carefully harvested, seeds 

 should be thoroughly cured and dried before being put into the stor- 

 age bins. Much better results would be obtained if such seeds were 

 artificial ly dried for several days in a current of dry air at a tempera- 

 ture not to exceed 35 C. With this method of drying, from 2 to 4 

 per cent of the moisture usually present in air-dried seeds is expelled. 

 The accompanying contraction of the seed coats makes them more 

 impervious to the action of moisture, and consequently the seeds are 

 better prepared for storing and shipping. Experiments made with 

 cabbage, lettuce, onion, and tomato seeds gave results as follows: The 

 average loss in weight of the air-dried seeds, after an additional dry- 

 ing of 30 days at a temperature of 30 to 32 C. was 2. 79 per cent. 

 Yet these same seeds, when kept for 40 days in the laboratory, reab- 

 sorbed only an average of 0.91 per cent of moisture. Like quantities 

 from the original sample gave only the slight variations ordinarily met 

 with, due to the humidity of the atmosphere. Thus seeds, when once 

 carefully and thoroughly dried, will not regain their original weight, 

 provided they be kept in a dry room. 



Nature, 1895, 52: 544-545. 



