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XXIV. 



Agricultural Seeds. Composition, ripening, vitality and germin- 

 ation of seeds. Examination of seeds. Frauds in the 

 seed-trade. Legislation regarding the sale of seeds and 

 of plants, or of living parts of plants. 



Effect of Ammonia on Germination. Gardeners' Chronicle p , 

 May 1910, No. 3622. London, p. 349. 



During last year tests were made at the Harper Adams' Agri- 

 cultural College to determine the effect of a solution of ammonia 

 upon the germination of Broad Beans. The seeds were steeped in 

 a 10% solution of ammonia from i to 48 hours, and after washing 

 in water were germinated at 60 F. The tabular results indicate 

 a decided increase in the speed of germination after steeping for 

 24 hours, the rate diminishing when the seeds were acted upon 

 for shorter or longer periods than this. Whether the ammonia acts 

 as a direct stimulus to growth is however not clear from the records, 

 as the germination of " control " seeds, after steeping in water 

 only for the same time, is not given in the report. 



A. J. BROWN. The permeability of the coverings of the seeds 

 of barley. (Proc, Roy. Soc., 1909, Ser. B, 81, No. B 546, 

 pp. 82-93, dgm. i). E. S. R. London, Aug. 1909. 



The author states that the seeds of the variety of barley known 

 as Hordeum vulgare ccerulescens owe their color to the presence of 

 a blue pigment in the aleurone cells. This pigment, like litmus, 

 is turned red by acids. Such seeds, when immersed in a dilute 

 solution of sulphuric acid, soon turn a pink color if their cover- 

 ings are damaged, but if the integument is not injured they will 

 imbibe water, become soft and swollen, andjretain their color for 

 a considerable time. 



A study was made of the behavior of the seed coats, and the 

 >enetrating power of solutions of a number of chemicals was in- 



