66 



THE VITALITY AND GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 



All of these samples were first dried for ten days in an incubator main- 

 tained at a temperature of from 30 to 32 C. The amount of mois- 

 ture in the samples before and after drying, as well as the moisture 

 expelled during the drying process, was as follows: 



Moisture test of seeds in special packages. 



These well -dried seeds were then put up in seven different kinds of 

 packages: 



(1) Double coin envelopes, of much the same quality as those in which 

 seeds are commonly sold. 



(2) Bottles of 120 cc. capacity, closed with firm cork stoppers. 



(3) Bottles of 120 cc. capacity, corked and sealed with paraffin. 



(4) Tin cans having closely fitting lids, the whole being then care- 

 fully dipped in paraffin. 



(5) Double coin envelopes, as for No. 1, the packets being then 

 dipped in melted paraffin. 



(6) Double coin envelopes, the inner one paraffined, the outer envel- 

 ope being used simply to protect the paraffin and to facilitate ease of 

 handling. 



(7) Double coin envelopes, with both the inner and the outer coated 

 with paraffin. 



On February 15, 1901, one of each of the above preparations was sent 

 to Mobile, Ala., and stored in a cellar approximately 400 feet back 

 from the bay. After the lapse of 108 days, i. e. , on June 3, these 

 samples were received in return, at which time germination tests were 

 made. 



The other complete set, retained in the botanical laboratory at Ann 

 Arbor, was subjected to a very moist atmosphere. The samples were 

 kept in a damp chamber made by taking two battery jars of different 

 sizes, the smaller containing the seeds being placed within the larger, 

 which was lined with filter paper and then partially filled with water. 

 The whole was covered with a glass plate, and the atmosphere within 

 was always on the verge of saturation. 



A third and an extreme set of conditions was established by- keeping 

 some of the paraffined packages immersed in water for twenty-seven 



