20 BULLETIN 1056, U. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
reason for retaining damaged seed for planting purposes. If such 
seed is sold for planting purposes a second test should be made at the 
time it is sacked and sales should be made on the basis of this latter 
test. 
The equipment necessary in making reliable germination tests is not 
expensive. Commercial germinators are on the market at around $50. 
Tests also may be made in sand or soil or by the use of blotting paper 
or canton flannel placed between ordinary dinner plates and kept 
warm and moist. Samples also may be sent to the Seed Laboratory, 
Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Washington, 
D. C, or to the Branch Seed Laboratory. College Station, Tex., for 
test without cost. 
The method of making the test will depend upon the nature of 
one's relation to the planting cotton seed business and the quantity 
of seed sold annually. The main point is that a reliable test should 
be made. The method of testing by cutting the seed with a knife 
and examining and tasting the kernel is inaccurate, if not fallacious, 
can not be relied upon, and should not be used or advocated. 
It is not proposed to fix a minimum or a standard percentage of 
germination at this writing, but rather to show that germination di- 
rectly affects the commercial as well as agricultural value of plant- 
ing cotton seed. The comparative commercial value of different 
grades of seed is governed largely by their agricultural value. A 
dead seed has no value for planting purposes. For this reason it is 
essential that accurate records of germination tests be kept so that 
the information may be passed on or made available to the farmer or 
other purchaser. These records should include the lot number of the 
seed from which the sample was taken, the date on which the test 
was made, and the percentage of germination as shown by the test. 
The duration of the test and any general remarks having a bearing 
on the viability of the seed or the vigor and healthfulness of the pros- 
pective young plants may be included. 
THE SHIPPING TAG. 
In addition to carrying shipping directions the shipping tag or 
label should also contain the following basic information which will 
aid the buyer in determining the' true value of cotton seed : Lot num- 
ber, variety, where grown, year grown, percentage of germination, 
and date of test. Many States in the cotton belt have enacted seed 
laws which require that additional information, such as the per- 
centage of each of pure seed, weed seed, and inert matter, and the 
names of noxious weed seed present, be shown on the label attached 
to shipments of seeds, including cotton seed. 
THE LOT NUMBER. 
The lot number is the key to the identity of any particular lot of 
seed. If dissatisfaction arises over a shipment, the lot number on the 
