94 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXVIII, No. 1 
Table XVI shows the following: (1) the yield from wheat treated by the modi¬ 
fied hot-water method was less than that from untreated wheat when both treated 
and untreated seed were sown at the same rate. These results confirm those 
obtained by Freeman and Johnson (4) in 1908 and by the writer in 1921 and 1922. 
(2) When the rate of seeding was increased to compensate for wheat killed in 
treatment, treated grain outyielded untreated grain which contained 10.7 per 
cent of loose smut. (3) The yield from treated seed sown wet was not so high as 
that from treated seed sown dry. Freeman and Johnson (4) noted that where 
treatment was injurious, seed improved in vitality, in general, as the length of 
time after treatment increased. In the foregoing experiment the dry-sown seed 
was treated a week before the wet-sown seed, and it seems probable, therefore, 
that the higher yield of the dry-sown wheat may be attributable to a better field 
germination. The results shown in Table XVI indicate the desirability of making 
a soil germination test before sowing to determine the amount of seed killed by 
treatment and of increasing the rate of seeding to compensate for this amount. 
It has been claimed that the modified hot-water treatment kills the small 
shriveled kernels in a seed lot and, as a result, wheat grown from treated seed 
produces more vigorous plants and grain of higher bushel weight. In order to 
determine first the effects of treatment on large and small kernels, three lots of 
machine-threshed Goens and one lot of machine-threshed Leap (C. I. 4823) 
wheat were used. One hundred of the largest and one hundred of the smallest 
kernels were selected from each lot. and treated on December 5, 1922. A like 
number were selected and left untreated. The small kernels frequently were 
shriveled and distorted. The treated grain was allowed to dry a week and the 
untreated and treated kernels were sown on December 12, in soil in greenhouse 
flats. One month later, on January 12, 1923, germination counts were made. 
The results are presented in Table XVII. 
Table XVII .—Percentages of germination of large and small kernels of machine- 
threshed Goens and Leap wheat , untreated and treated by the modified hot-water 
method 
Lot No. 
Variety 
Percentage of germination 
Large kernels 
Small kernels 
Un¬ 
treated 
Treated 
Reduc¬ 
tion due 
to treat¬ 
ment 
Un¬ 
treated 
Treated 
Reduc- • 
tion due 
to treat¬ 
ment 
32. 
Goens... 
88 
38 
50 
77 
29 
48 
35. 
...do- 
93 
45 
48 
73 
28 
45 
37.| 
L..do_ 
92 
51 
41 
64 
25 
39 
38.! 
j 
[ Leap.... 
76 
23 
53 
66 
32 
34 
1 
Average. i 
| 
87.3 
39.3 
48.0 
70.0 
28.5 
41.5 
Reference to Table XVII shows that reduction in germination due to treat¬ 
ment was 6.5 per cent greater for the large seeds. This probably was due to 
the fact that large kernels exposed more surface to threshing injury, sustained 
greater damage to the seed coats, and consequently suffered greater injury from 
treatment. Schellenberger (11) has noted that the threshing machine usually 
damages large kernels. 
In order to determine the effects of treatment on the weight of grain, a test 
weight per bushel was taken of all of the wheat grown from the untreated and 
treated seed of five lots used in the rod-row yield experiments of 1922. The results 
are presented in Table XVIII. 
