Sept. 16,1918 
Resistance of Seeds to Desiccation 
529 
Table III .—Moisture content and percentages of germination of samples of wheat after 
storage for different lengths of time over lime and over sulphuric acid , compared with 
samples stored in an open vessel 
Date of test. 
Length 
of time 
stored 
under 
different 
conditions. 
Kharkof wheat. 
Moisture content (percentage 
of dry weight). 
Germination (per cent). 
Stored 
over 
calcium 
oxid. 
Stored 
over 
sulphuric 
acid (sp. 
gr. 1.84). 
Stored 
in open 
vessel. 
Stored 
over 
calcium 
oxid. 
Stored 
over 
sulphuric 
add (sp. 
gr. 1.84). 
Stored 
in open 
vessel. 
1917. 
Tan. . 
Months. 
9*4 
12. 7 
89 
90 
93 
July 12 . 
Aug. 8. 
6 
7 
i *5 
•9 
1*7 
I. I 
83 
87 
84 
90 
« 
Date of test. 
Length 
of time 
stored 
under 
different 
conditions. 
Pelissier wheat. 
Moisture content (percentage 
of dry weight). 
Germination (per cent). 
Stored 
over 
calcium 
oxid. 
Stored 
over 
sulphuric 
add (sp. 
gr. 1.84). 
Stored 
in open 
vessel. 
Stored 
over 
calcium 
oxid. 
Stored 
over 
sulphuric 
add (sp. 
gr. r.84). 
Stored 
in open 
vessel. 
1917. 
Jan. . 
• 
Months. 
9. 2 
12. 2 
81 
85 
80 
July 12. 
Aug. 8. 
6 
7 
I. 4 
I. O 
1.8 
1. 1 
58 
83 
. 84 
86 
With barley and Sudan grass seed the percentages which germinated 
in the different tests show only slight irregularities, with no indication 
of injury from drying, though the moisture content was reduced below 
1 per cent. 
With Johnson grass seed there was considerable irregular variation in 
percentage of germination, probably the result of irregularities fn tem¬ 
perature control, moisture content of the germinating bed, and length 
of germination test, with a slight decrease caused by drying. The last 
tests, made after months with the seeds containing only 0.1 to 0.2 
per cent of moisture, showed no effect of the drying upon percentage of 
germination. The seeds which did not germinate in 17 days were tested 
for viability by removing the scales from the caryopses, breaking the 
seed covering over the embryo, and then incubating the seeds for an 
additional period of two or three days. These viability tests showed 
from 90 to 95 per cent to be alive, both of dried lots and of the control 
lots. 
Wheat samples were first taken six months after the beginning of the 
test. At that time the wheat contained about 1.5 per cent of moisture 
