80 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXVIII, No. I 
a charge is made, based on actual cost of operation and equipment. The rate 
usually approximates 25 cents a bushel. 
Table I, adapted from Pipal (10), shows the increase in number of community 
plants for applying the hot-water seed treatment in Indiana, and in the quantity 
of grain treated from 1918 to 1920. 
Table I .—Increase in the number of community plants for applying the hot-water 
seed treatment in Indiana and in the quantity of grain treated from 1918 to 1920 
Type and number of treating plants 
Year 
Using sacks 
in connec¬ 
tion with a 
creamery, 
etc. 
Using a 
treating 
drum 
Total 
Bushels of 
wheat 
treated 
ms...:. 
0 
1 
1 
616 
1919. 
3 
5 
8 
3,419 
9,687 
1920. 
11 
9 
20 
This growth in the use of the modified hot-water treatment brought forth 
insistent inquiries concerning the effects of treatment on the germination, 
growth, and yield of wheat. Interviews with patrons of the community plants 
revealed that there was some apprehension regarding the amount of injury 
resulting from treatment. The available literature did not fully answer the 
questions and the investigations reported herein were undertaken to provide 
the desired information. 
METHODS AND MATERIALS 
In the following experiments the seed was treated in cheesecloth bags with 
ample room to allow for swelling of the grain. A 60-gallon tank, used for treat¬ 
ment, was equipped with two motor-driven propellers which kept the water 
thoroughly agitated and at a uniform temperature. Thermostatically controlled 
electric heaters were employed to maintain the temperature of the 10-minute 
bath, which was held at 54° C. in all cases with a plus or minus variation not in 
excess of 0.2°. All of the thermometers employed had been standardized by the 
United States Bureau of Standards. In applying the modified hot-water treatment 
the wheat was (1) presoaked for 4 to 5 hours in cold water, (2) dipped momentarily 
in water at about 49°, and (3) immersed in water at 54° for 10 minutes. 
Immediately after treatment the seed was spread in a thin layer to cool, and in 
order to reduce its moisture content to about that of the untreated seed, it was 
left to dry for 5 days or more at room temperature. Soil-germination tests in 
the greenhouse were made by sowing 100 seeds per flat 1x2 feet. Uniform 
spacing and depth of sowing were insured by pressing into the soil 100 one-inch 
pegs inserted in a board equidistantly. The kernels were dropped into the 
holes so made and then covered. 
EFFECT OF THE MODIFIED HOT-WATER TREATMENT ON 
GERMINATION 
Difficulties involved in making germination tests in the field throughout 
the year led to a study to determine whether or not tests in moist blotters or in 
soil in flats in the greenhouse could be substituted. Preliminary germination 
tests in moist blotters showed that many of the treated seeds germinated more 
or less abnormally. For instance, some of the primary rootlets would be stunted 
.or absent, or only a plumule or a radical, or aborted forms of one or both would 
