rg15| ROSE—DELAVED GERMINATION 441 
fungi. This point was determined for each kind of seed not more 
than two days after the test began. All filter paper was boiled 
5-10 minutes before being used and kept moist with distilled 
water during the test. Repeated washing of seeds and removal 
to fresh filter paper showed that in all cases infection came from the 
seeds, not from the paper. 
There is no intention here of implying that seedsmen in general 
purposely put on the market seeds low in vitality or badly infected 
with fungi. It does seem clear, however, that there is need of 
closer supervision by the seedsmen themselves of all stages of the 
process of seed production; alternation of crops to avoid soil- 
infection, cultivation, harvesting, threshing, cleaning, storage; 
all of these need close attention if seed of the best quality is to be 
produced. The most candid way in which to approach the whole 
question is to admit that seed analysts, seed-growers, and seed 
merchants do not at present know a number of things they need 
to know in reference to the question of fungus infection of seeds, 
and to all the other questions considered in this paper. The whole 
matter constitutes an extremely complex physiological and patho- 
logical problem, with very practical aspects, the solution of which 
can be brought about only by careful study from several different 
points of view. To be specific, the following lines for investigation 
may be suggested: 
1. The relation of germinator tests to the actual vegetation of 
seeds in the soil. This should be studied through a period of several 
years. 
2. The relation of fungi on or inside of seeds to the germination 
of such seeds in soil. At the risk of seeming to repeat unnecessarily, 
the writer wishes to say that in his opinion the importance of this 
problem is only poorly appreciated in this country. Some recog- 
nition of the dangers accompanying fungus infection of seed has 
appeared of late in the work of Bottey and others in the United 
States, and in German agricultural literature. APPEL (1), writing 
on the relation of pathology to seed control, says that in seed- 
testing stations, pains should be taken to give judgment as to the 
Presence of spores of plant diseases on seeds to be examined. 
It is his opinion, further, that in comparative field tests more 
