GEEMINATION. 183 



of plants it is possible to obtain from a given weight 

 of seed, and the number of seeds, simple or complex, 

 that will germinate in loo. One would be led into 

 considerable error if the number of sprouts alone were 

 taken as a basis. For example, in loo grams of ordi- 

 nary seed there are 5250 separate seeds, and if each of 

 these gave only one sprout the outcome would be 5250 

 beets, providing all conditions were favorable. M. 

 Pagnoul takes an interesting example from every-day 

 practice, based upon the supposition that a seed dealer 

 has mixed 50 grams of fresh-selected seed of the best 

 quality, with fifty grams of inferior old seed. In fifty 

 grams of good seed there are about 1750 seeds, and if 

 each of these gave three sprouts, we would have 5230 

 sprouts, or the number that would be acceptable. We 

 may suppose that in fifty grams of old dead seed there 

 are 3500 individual seeds that will not sprout, and yet 

 this total, 5250 sprouts, after germination tests, would 

 be most satisfactory. As only one plantlet is allowed 

 to remain by practical experiment in planting, one 

 would get 1750 beets instead of 5250, as expected. 

 Consequently, if seed-testing stations accept the 

 sprouting as a basis, they encourage fraud by the seed 

 dealer, who will resort to a much-abused practice of 

 mixing old seed with new very much under the condi- 

 tions just described. 



