14 TOBACCO CULTURE. 



methods of separation and cleaning. Thus, a given weight 

 of Cuban seed only contains one-half the quantity of actual 

 tobacco seed as the same quantity of seed, when cleaned 

 and prepared for market by American methods would yield. 



TESTING THE SEED. 



All seeds, tobacco seeds included, have their periods of 

 longevity, or vitality, beyond which the germinating power, 

 or life of the seed begins to wane and finally disappears. 

 Many authorities claim that the vitality of tobacco seed may 

 reach ten, or even fifteen years, but it is a well established 

 fact, that deterioration begins after the fifth year, so that 

 beyond that time its use involves a risk and possible loss. 



Therefore, no seed of unknown age should be used un- 

 til first given a germinating or other test. 



This is done by dropping some of the seed upon a hot 

 stove or shovel ; good seed will burst or pop. Any seed not 

 affected in this way, maybe counted as bad, arid should not 

 be used for sowing. The seed may also be tested by actual 

 germination, thus: sprinkle the seed into a small mass of 

 cotton wool in a tumbler, which should contain a little 

 water in the bottom. If the tumbler be then kept in a warm 

 place, at the end of three or four days, all the good seed 

 should germinate. The proportion of unsprouted seed will 

 then indicate the relative percentage of bad seed present in 

 the lot. 



Another satisfactory way of testing seed is to take a 

 small piece of board covered with a piece of cotton cloth 



