694 Report on the Trials of Implements at Reading. 
every side, and no space would be left between the straw and 
the tube for a current of air from the outside to interfere with 
the correct reading of the thermometer inside the tube. !Mr. 
Giles's suggestion was adopted, and it was decided that the 
tubes should be triangular, measuring inside 3" at the base, and 
IJ" in height. The inner end was to be plugged, and the sides 
of the tube for about 4 feet from the inner end were to be 
pierced with holes for the admission of air from the stack. The 
outer end of the tube was to be provided with a close-fitting 
plug- 
During the trials on hay the Judges had frequently occasion 
to regret that they had not provided self-registering thermo- 
meters, which would have recorded the greatest heat which there 
had been in a particular spot since the previous inspection. 
W hen they were making arrangements for the trials of the fans 
upon corn which was to be prematurely harvested, it was even 
more necessary that they should have such instruments, as the 
range of temperature to which grain can be safely exposed is 
much more limited than in the case of hay. Leaving out of 
sight the chemical changes which result from heating corn, and 
the damage done to grain required for consumption by man or 
beast, it is sufficiently evident that the germinating power 
of corn in moist condition may very easily be destroyed by 
a comparatively small rise of temperature. In the case of 
barley, any injury to the germinating power greatly decreases 
the marketable value ; and a sample which was potentially ot 
first-class " malting " quality may have been degraded to the 
rank of "grinding" or " pig-meat" barley by a little haste on 
the part of the farmer in stacking it, and the consequent heating 
in the stack. 
In reply to some inquiries as to the temperature to which 
corn in the stack might safely be exposed, the Judges received 
the following communication from Mr. Carruthers, the Con- 
sulting Botanist to the Society : 
" The temperature which grains of wheat can endure without 
being killed has been made the subject of investigation by 
Sachs. He found that air-dry seeds of wheat heated to 149^ 
Fahr. for an hour, so far retained their vitality that in one 
experiment 25 per cent, germinated, and in another 98 per 
cent. But tissues that contain water are more speedily injured 
by heat than those that are dry. So that seeds of wheat which 
had been soaked in water were killed at a temperature of 127° 
Fahr. Seeds exposed to water-vapour would be destroyed at 
the lower temperature, and also seeds not fully ripe. 
" The injury caused by heat is due to the coagulation of the 
nitrogenous compounds stored up in the embryo and in the 
