1914] 



DA RSI E, ELLIOTT & PEIRCE— GERMINATING POWER 



117 



Experiment VI. — Oats from the University of Wisconsin, from 

 the Experimental Farm at Davis, California, under the direction of 

 the University of California, and from Ames, Iowa, were used in 

 different quantities, as recorded below. In our early tests we 

 attempted to sterilize the material, but experience showed this to 

 be futile, at least under the ordinary conditions. It is to be noted, 

 however, that in almost every instance, the amount of fungous 

 infection increased with the age of the seeds. This is indicated in 

 all of our experiments. In our first test, 20 grams of oats of the 

 crops of 1904 and of 191 1 from the University of Wisconsin were 



Fig. 8. — Hemp (experiment V): 5.5 grams; broken line, 1907; broken and 

 dotted line, 1908; dotted line, 1910; solid line, 1911. 



washed with a concentrated aqueous solution of corrosive subli- 

 mate, rinsed with boiled distilled water, and then soaked as before 



in the flasks and the water presently drawn off. The data are in 

 table VII I . 



On opening the flasks recorded in table VIII, one saw that 24.4 

 per cent of the 1904 seed had germinated, and of these seedling not 



more than 1-4 mm 



mold 



was present. On the other hand, practically 

 all of the 191 1 seed had germinated, the radicles were long and 

 vigorous, and there was no evidence of infection. 



