GERMINATION OF SEED AS AFFECTED BY SULFURIC ACID TREATMENT 335 



Materials needed 

 The following materials are needed for treating seed with acid: 



For clover or other small seeds in limited quantity: 



Small homeopathic vials or test tubes that will hold the seed easily and 

 will give plenty of room for mixing with the acid. 



Concentrated sulfuric acid, of a specific gravity of about 1.84, and recep- 

 tacles for same. Either the chemically pure acid or the ordinary dark- 

 colored commercial acid gives the same results. 



A needle mounted on a wooden handle, to be used for stirring the acid 

 and seed. 



A spatula or section lifter is needed to remove seeds from the strainer 

 and place them into the tubes. 



A wire tea-strainer of fine mesh. This will resist the action of the acid 

 for several hundred tests. 



Blotters and germinator, or other apparatus for germinating seeds, if 

 the seed is not to be planted in the soil. 



For clover or other small seeds in large quantities of a half peck or more: 



Stone jars of two or three gallons capacity, or larger. 



Acid as above. 



A wooden or iron stirring-rod. A broomstick is satisfactory. 



A strainer made by nailing a fine-mesh iron, copper, or brass screen to 

 a wooden box. 



For cotton and larger seeds: 



The same apparatus as given above may be used, except that the screen 

 or sieve may be of larger mesh. 



Methods 



In order to determine whether acid treatment of leguminous seeds is 

 necessary, a germination test should be made. If this shows a low per- 

 centage of germination and a large amount of hard seeds that are 

 apparently alive, acid treatment will probably be beneficial. The methods 

 of treatment advised are as follows: 



For limited quantities of seed: 



When there is only a small amount of seed to be treated, such as the 

 seed from a single head of clover or from a single clover plant, amounting 

 to not more than a few hundred seeds, the following method may be 

 employed : 



Place the seed in a small homeopathic vial or test tube. Pour on 

 the seed a quantity of concentrated sulfuric acid equal to about five or 



