Fibres* 



[April, 1910. 



develop more rapidly, and endowing it 

 with more vigour and disease-resisting 

 power. 



The following are some of the chief 

 advantages gained by the use of heavy 

 seed. The seeds usually germinate more 

 quickly and produce hardier and more 

 vigorous plants than the lighter seeds, 

 and the crops produced are larger and 

 more uniform. These facts were strik- 

 ingly brought out by experiments which 

 were carried out in a greenhouse some 

 years ago by Messrs. Gilbert H. Hicks 

 and John C. Dabney, and described in 

 the Yearbook of the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, 1898, page 305. The 

 seeds then tested were those of garden 

 peas, beaus, hairy vetch, rye, barley, 

 wheat and oats. In each case two 

 specimens were carefully selected, one of 

 heavy, the other of light, seed, the in- 

 dividual seeds of each specimen having 

 approximately the same weight. The 

 seeds were sown in pure sand, and the 

 plants from each specimen were given 

 equal quantities of a culture solution 

 containing all the necessary elements of 

 plant food. They were kept under 

 exactly the same conditions, and at the 

 conclusion of each experiment typical 

 plants from each set were carefully 

 removed, and weighed and measured. In 

 every instance the seedlings from the 

 heavier seed were of greater weight, the 

 difference being closely proportional to 

 the difference between the weights of 

 the seeds. Seedlings from the heavier 

 seeds exhibited greater vigour, wore 

 taller, bore a larger number of leaves, 

 and had thicker stems and better deve- 

 loped roots. The plants made better 

 growth in every way and produced 

 larger and earlier crop than those from 

 the lighter seeds. 



Similar results have been obtained 

 with tobacco seed. Comparative tests, 

 which were made by Mr. A. D. Shamel 

 (Yearbook of the United States Depart- 

 ment oj Agriculture, 1904, page 440), 

 showed tuat the large, heavy seed 

 always yielded the best developed and 

 most vigorous plants, whilst the light 

 seed furnished small, weak, and irregular 

 plants. A sample of Cuban seed was 

 separated into thiee grades- light, 

 medium, and heavy. The heavy sued 

 germinated almost perfectly, whereas 

 less than 5 per cent, of the light seed 

 germinated. The plants from the heavy 

 seed grew more rapidly than those from 

 the light seed, aud were ready for 

 transplanting seven to nine days earlier 

 than the latter. The plants from the 

 heavier seed were also hardier and more 

 uniform. 



The separation of the heavier and 

 larger seeds is most commonly effected 



by means of sieves of suitable mesh, A 

 partial separation can also be made by 

 throwing the seed into water or a solu- 

 tion of salt, allowing the heavy seeds to 

 settle, and skimming off and rejecting 

 the lighter seeds. This plan is not 

 altogether satisfactory owing to the 

 adhesion of air bubbles to some of the 

 heavy seeds, thereby rendering them 

 buoyant. The seeds must be im- 

 mediately dried after removal from the 

 liquid. Another method, and one which 

 was successfully employed in the separ- 

 ation of the tobacco seed used for the 

 experiments mentioned above, depends 

 on the use of a current of air. A foot- 

 bellows is connected by means of rubber 

 tubing to the lower end of a vertical 

 glass tube. The strength of the air- 

 current is regulated by means of a valve, 

 which is so adjusted that, on blowing 

 air through a quantity of seed contained 

 in the glass tube, only the dirt, chaff 

 aud light seed are ejected. 



The study of the advantages accruing 

 from the use of heavy seed has uow been 

 extended to cotton, and an account of 

 the results of work in this direction has 

 been given recently by Dr. Herbert J. 

 Webber and Mr. E B. Boy kin ( Farmers' 

 Bulletin, No. 285, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, 1907). 



The methods of separating the heavy 

 seed which have just been mentioned 

 are not applicable to American Upland 

 cottons owing to the dense fuzz or down 

 on the surface of the seeds which causes 

 them to cling together. An ingenious 

 and satisfactory method has now been 

 devised, however, and has been used 

 with very successfiil results in the 

 experiments Under consideration. In 

 orier to prevent the seeds from adhering 

 together, the fuzz must bo pasted down 

 in some way. In the preliminary experi- 

 ments it was found that this could be 

 effected by rolling the seeds with water 

 and some powdered substance, such as 

 ashes, acid phosphate, or fine dry earth. 

 Later, however, it was found more satis- 

 factory to use paste made by mixing 

 evenly 4| to 5 oz. of flour with a pint ~o£ 

 water, then adding a quart of water 

 and boiling until the liquid thickened. 

 The pasta is applied in the following 

 manner. One bushel of cotton seed is 

 placed in the rolling apparatus, which 

 consists of a hexagonal wooden box with 

 an axle runuing through it, the latter 

 being supported at the two ends, and fur- 

 nished at one end with a crank for rota- 

 ting the box. The paste is poured ovei' 

 the seed in the box, which is then closed 

 and rotated for from 7 to 10 minutes. 

 The seed is afterwards removed from 

 the rolling apparatus and spread out to 

 dry. The seeds do not stick together 



