62 



THE VITALITY AND GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 



The tomato weed, as shown in Tables V and XXV, was the most 

 resistant to the unfavorable conditions of storage. The seed in the 

 bottles was not injured at any of the places. The lowest germination 

 was 91.5 per cent from the seed kept in a dry room at Ann Arbor, 

 Mich. The seed in the envelopes gave a much wider variation, falling 

 quite low in some of the samples which were stored in the basements. 

 The average losses in vitality for the entire series of the second set of 

 seeds which were kept in envelopes were as follows: Trade conditions, 

 5.20 per cent; dry rooms, 3.29 per cent; basements, 13.68 per cent. 

 The average percentage of germination of the seed which was kept in 

 the bottles differed from the control less than one-half of 1 per cent. 



TABLE XXIV. Percentage of germination of watermelon subjected to various conditions 

 of storage in different localities. 



[Germination of control sample: First test, 95.5 per cent; second test, 99 per cent.] 



What has been said of the tomato seed is practically true for the 

 watermelon, save that there was a greater loss in vitality in the latter, 

 when seeds were kept in envelopes. The average percentage of ger- 

 mination of the second tests was 86.75 per cent for trade conditions; 

 88.67 per cent for dry rooms; and 77.7 per cent for basements, or a 

 loss in vitality of 12.37, 10.44 and 21.52 percent, respectively, as com- 

 pared with the vitality of the control sample, which germinated 99 

 per cent. 



An examination of the foregoing set of tables will show that in 

 most cases the deterioration was comparatively slight during the first 

 128 days. Yet even during this short period the losses in vitality 

 were very marked in some of the more critical localities, particularly 



