136 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



REPORT OF BOTANIST AND ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Prof. F. L. Harvey. 



GERMINATION EXPERIMENTS. 



It is well known that seeds often fail to germinate, causing great 

 loss to the planter. To what extent poor seed is offered for sale in 

 this state is not known. Farmers do not usually take the trouble 

 to sprout seed before planting. The germinating power of seed 

 cannot readily be told by its appearance, and there is opportunity 

 for dishonest dealers to mix old seed with fresh, and sell an inferior 

 quality, without danger of being detected. Reliable dealers may 

 sell a poor quality of seed without knowing it. If the quality of 

 seed offered for sale in our markets could be improved, it would be 

 a great saving to farmers. Published accounts of the germinating 

 power of seeds offered for sale b}' seedsmen will make them more 

 careful of the quality of seed sold, and also help protect reliable 

 dealers from disreputable ones. 



Failure to germinate ma}' be due to imperfections in the seed, or 

 result from improper management of it by the planter. 



Seed, to be reliable, should be mature and plump when gathered ; 

 properly dried and kept from changing conditions of heat, cold and 

 moisture until planted ; should not be too old ; true to name ; 

 entirely free from insect depredations and the seeds of noxious 

 weeds. When possible, select seed from the same or from a more 

 northern latitude. Lightness in weight indicates immaturity or 

 weakness. Low germinating power may be due to immaturity or 

 weakness, improper care of seed after it is gathered, or to great 

 age. Insect depredations and the presence of foreign seeds can 

 usually be detected by a pocket lens. To determine whether a 

 seed is true to name it has to be grown, or, more quickly, it 

 may be compared with a correctl}' named sample. 



To properly germinate, seeds require heat, moisture and free 

 access of air. The relative amount differs with different seeds. 



Proper time, depth and method of planting ; and the conditions 

 of soil as regards heat, moisture and porosity, are almost as impor- 

 tant to the planter as good seed. 



Seeds with a small chit or embryo start slowly and suffer more 

 from vicissitudes than those with a large, strong embryo. In gen- 



