26 MISSOURI AGR. EXP. STA. RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. 17 



The seeds were gathered late in the fall of 1912. One set was 

 planted at once and another thoroly dried. The latter were then stored 

 in cardboard boxes on shelves in a basement room where the atmos- 

 phere was fairly uniform, being neither too hot nor too dry. A set of 

 the dried seeds was planted about one month after they were gathered. 

 At the time the dried seeds were planted, another set of the dried 

 seeds was soaked in tap water for three hours and then etherized for 

 twelve hours just before planting. The seeds were etherized by plac- 

 ing under a bell- jar with a quantity of liquid ether amounting to 1 

 cc. for each 25 liters of air space. The bell- jar was sealed to a glass 

 plate by means of vaseline. The temperature usually ranged between 

 22 and 25 Centigrade. 



All plantings were made in a sand bed in the greenhouse, the 

 etherized seeds being planted immediately after removing from be- 

 neath the bell- jar. The sand was kept thoroly moist and the atmos- 

 phere of the greenhouse kept as uniform as possible both as regards 

 temperature and humidity. 



A variation in the experiment was started December 17, 1912, by 

 stratifying and freezing some of the seeds from each species. The 

 seeds were placed between folds of cheesecloth and buried in a box of 

 sand. The box was then left exposed to the varying conditions of 

 out-door temperature until February 17, 1913, when it was brought 

 in. Hard freezing weather occurred during January so that the strat- 

 ified seeds were thoroly frozen. One sample of each species was 

 planted immediately, while another sample was etherized for twelve 

 hours, and still another was etherized for twenty-hours immediately 

 before planting. These three sets of seeds were planted in a moist 

 sand bed and otherwise treated like those that were planted during the 

 fall and early winter. 



The following summary shows the treatments the seeds received 

 before being planted : 



1. Planted in fall immediately after maturity, without any treat- 



ment. 



2. Air-dried for one month before planting. 



3. Dried one month, soaked three hours, then etherized twelve 



hours. 



4. Dried one month, then etherized twenty-four hours. 



5. Dried one month, then frozen in stratification. 



6. Dried one month, frozen in stratification, then etherized 



twelve hours. 



7. Dried one month, frozen in stratification, then etherized twen- 



ty-four hours. 



The results of these experiments are set forth in Tables 11 and 

 12, together with the summaries of these in Table 13. 



