132 



HATCH EXPERIMENT STATION. 



[J:in 



ments. There is a slight increase shown in this series, due 

 to treatment, which is the most marked in the normal loam 

 and subsoil. 



Table IV. — Hhoiving the Influence of Soil Decoctions upon Oermina- 

 lion of Seeds immersed for Six Hours in Decoctions made by i^cr- 

 colating 300 c.c. of Water through 400 drains of Soil, diluted to 

 One-eighth Strength ; 200 Seeds used in Each Treatment, making 

 a Total of 5,600 Seeds. 



The experiment with one-eighth strength decoction shows 

 a decided gain throughout in the treated seeds, the most 

 marked being given by the boiled and sterilized loams and 

 subsoil decoctions. No further dilutions were tried, but 

 from a careful study of the results of these experiments we 

 are inclined to the belief that if more dilute solutions were 

 used an increased gain would occur, especially in the steril- 

 ized series, since the most highly colored decoctions were 

 obtained from the sterilized soils and the next highest color 

 from the boiled soils. It appears to us that the sterilized 

 decoctions were too strong, even when diluted to one-eighth 

 strength . Some variation in the strength of the decoctions 

 is likely to occur as a result of different percolators, and the 

 failure of the one-fourth and one-half strength to show more 

 of an acceleration may be attributed to this cause. 



The following table gives the number of seeds that germi- 

 nated in the first twenty-four hours in the preceding experi- 

 ments, including tables I., IL, HI. and IV., from which the 

 degrees of acceleration and retardation due to treatment can 

 be obtained. 



