210 
scratch or remove the outer cuticle. If this is broken through at any 
one point, water will enter and spread to all parts of the seed, so that 
a single scratch that penetrates the cuticle is sufficient to render a 
seed permeable. This scratching is done with a file in the case of 
large seeds, or in smaller ones by shaking them up with sand or pass- 
ing them through revolving cylinders lined with cement in which sand 
is imbedded. Another method is to treat the seeds with some strong- 
corrosive agent such as concentrated sulphuric acid, which if the 
treatment is prolonged sufficiently, will completely remove the 
cuticle. 
The second method is to remove the waxy substances from the 
cuticle by certain chemicals known as fat-solvents, such solvents 
are chloroform, ether or hot alcohol. This method is, however, not 
practicable, owing to the expense of the solvents and the length of 
time required to dissolve the wax, usually from three to four 
months. The principle of soaking hard seeds in hot water to make 
them swell may be explained in the following way : the effect of 
the heat is to melt the particles Of wax which are distributed through 
the wall. When they are melted they will tend to run together to 
form larger isolated drops, and in this way spaces will be left through 
which the molecules of water can push their way into the seed, caus- 
ing it to swell and germinate. 
In the long list of seed that germinated or failed to germinate 
after a long period of years the Acacias and Albizzias stand out as 
very long lived. Acacia acinacea, after 40 years, gave 55 per cent 
germination. A. decurrens after 16 years on immersion in acid for 8 l A 
hours, gave 100 per cent., and Albizzia lophantha after 23 years all 
germinated. 
The time required for the action of sulphuric acid at 12-15 0 C to 
produce the swelling of the seed due to the permeation of water varied 
with different seeds. In Albizzia lophantha it required 40 hours at 20 
C., or 7 hours at 30°C., Indigo seed (Indigofera arrecta) required 15 
to 30 minutes. 
The long duration of seeds in the ground only germinating when 
the ground has been cleared and burnt over, is well known to many 
persons. Ground is cleared and burnt over and plants which had not 
previously been seen perhaps for very many years suddenly reap- 
pear, the seeds having remained quiescent in the ground till the heat 
of the sun or of fire has started them into germination. — E d. 
ADULTERATION OF PRODUCE. 
The loss caused to the planter by the free use of adulterants of 
his produce is one of those injuries which as a rule he does not appre- 
ciate, yet it is nearly as injurious as the invention of a synthetic, the 
idea of which hangs as a nightmare over him. Unscrupulous dealers 
invent the most preposterous adulterants for tea, coffee, tobacco, 
