EXPERIMENTS IN KEEPING AND SHIPPING. 



71 



were used, but each with three different degrees of moisture: (1) Seed 

 from the original packages, i. e., air-dried samples, the cabbage hav- 

 ing a water content of 5.80 per cent, and the onion 6.48 per cent. 

 (2) Air-dried samples were exposed in a moist atmosphere under a bell 

 jar for two da} 7 s, during which time the cabbage absorbe'd 1.83 per 

 cent of water and the onion 2.41 per cent, thus raising the water con- 

 tent to 7.63 and 8.89 per cent, respectively. (3) Air-dried seeds 

 which were dried in an incubator for eight days at a temperature vary- 

 ing from 27 C. to 39 C. During this interval 2.05 per cent of water 

 was expelled from the cabbage and 3.11 per cent from the onion seed, 

 leaving a water content of only 3.75 per cent in the former and 3.37 

 per cent in the latter. 



Each of the samples, treated as just described, was put up in three 

 different kinds of packages: (1) Seedsmen's regular seed envelopes. 

 (2) Similar envelopes which were paraffined, after being filled with 

 seed, at a temperature of from 70 to 75 C. The melting point of the 

 paraffin was 53 C. (3) In bottles which were closed with firm cork 

 stoppers. 



One of each of the above packages was then stored at Mobile under 

 trade conditions and in a basement; likewise at Ann Arbor in the 

 herbarium room of the botanical laboratory, in a greenhouse, and in 

 an incubator maintained at 40 C. The duration of this experiment 

 was 131 days, from December 20, 1901, to April 30, 1902. There-suits 

 of the germination tests are given in Table XXVIII. Two percentages 

 have been given for the control sample, one for Ann Arbor and the 

 other for Mobile. This was necessary since the two series were tested 

 at different times and comparisons can not be made interchangeably 

 between the two. 



TABLE XXVIII. Vitality of cabbage and onion seed as preserved in various kinds of 

 packages and mbjected to different conditions of storage. 



[Germination of control samples Ann Arbor: Cabbage, 81.7 per cent; onion, 74 per cent. Mobile: 

 Cabbage, 88 per cent; onion, 84.5 per cent.] 



