SEED GERMINATION 
177 
of the same dimensions. Strings and rubber bands and tags. A 
box twelve inches by twelve inches square and twelve or fifteen 
inches deep. Sawdust or moss to retain the moisture in the box. 
A knife and pencil. 
Procedure: Lay out twenty ears of corn upon a table or shelf. 
Number each ear with a paper tag. 
Wet the muslin in boiling water and stretch it evenly over the 
heavy paper. Number twenty spaces upon the cloth as shown in 
Figure 127. 
Draw eight kernels from each ear and place in rows as indicated 
in Figure 127. Care should be taken that the ear and the number 
of the row correspond. 
Fig. 131.—Sand or sawdust box tester A. Removable top with numbers. 
B. Box containing sawdust. 
After eight grains have been drawn from each of the twenty 
ears and placed in the proper rows, the doll is rolled carefully to 
avoid displacing the corn. Bands or strings placed around the 
dolls as indicated in Figure 128. The dolls are placed vertically 
in the box, packed with sawdust, moistened and covered. Sev¬ 
eral dolls should be prepared at one time. 
A temperature of eighty degrees F. is maintained for six days. 
By this time the corn should have made a vigorous growth. 
In reading the doll, remove the bands, and unroll as it had been 
rolled when starting the test. Dead and decaying grains can be 
easily detected, as shown in Figure 129. Discard those ears show¬ 
ing dead or badly molded grains. 
