The progress., 1904-12-31
FARMER AND RI Al NTER.
cohsHRvIxo SEED VITALITY.


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0bS6rvisg msa are coming to realize
ths importance Of good seed. Where
oncs certain farmer wus satisned to
20 to his crib and sort cut some corn
In the spring Tor planting. he now -
lects his corn IN the nall and carefully
cures It through the winter. having II
IN tho bssl possible con6ttio0s when
TIE fields are ready Tor the planter.
10 be sure only A-smadl percentage q
the farmers Of the connsFyrars ohserv-
inS this care, but ~ belfege thAt The
number is gradually Increasing each
year.
With every farm crop there h an op-
pcrtunity to use great care in select
Ing and sorting al seed.
~Even after the seed has been selected
there Is need Of cara We do mot pre-
tend to assume in this article to tell
j,yst how this care must be given. but
there are certain general qualities that
may be aimed at In order to insure
6rst-class seed. In a lac L1.,e,.1 is
sued by the bureau Of plant industry
Of the department Of agriculture at
Washington particular attention is
given to several essential points, to-
gether with results that have been BE-
cured by observing them These may
be summarized as follows:
L The first factors determining the
vitality of seed are maturity, weather
conditions at the time Of harvesting
and methods Of harvesting and curing.
2. Immature seed sown af f,er gath
ering usually germdnate readily, but II
stored they coon lose their vitality. On
the other hand, well-matured seeds,
harvested under favorable conditions,
are comparatively lvng-lived when
properly handled.
:. The curing Of the various seeds
is Of the utmost Importance, and great
care should be tasen to prevent ex-
cessive heating, otherwise the vitality
will be greatly lowered
4. With special precautions and
treatment, there Is NO question that the
life Of seeds may be greatly prolonged
beyond that which we know at present,
though never for centuries, as is fire.
quently stated. Gases 50 reported can
not be taken as evidence Of the loneev-
ity Of seeds.
s. It is known that seeds retain
their vitality much better in some sec
tons o6 the country than others The
part which climatic influences play IN
the vitality Of seeds is OF much more
importance than is generally supposed.
8. Experiments have shown that
moisture 10 the chief factor in deter
mining the longevity Of seed as they
are commercially fandle6 Seeds stored
In the dry climates retain their vital
ity much better than when stored In
places having humid atmosphere.
z. The deleterions action of moisture
ls greatly augmented II the temperature
be increased. Not lnfrequently is VI
tality destroyed within few weeks or
when the seeds are stored In
warm, moist climates. If stored in a
Try climate the question OF temperature
within the normal range is Of little
8. II the storage room for seeds
could be kept dry and at the same
tnme cool the conditions would be al
most ideal for the preservation Of VI
ta1ity; but the difficulties to be over
come In order to secure a dry and
cool storage room render this method
9. Seeds that are to be sent to coun-
tries having moist climates should be
put UP in air-tight packages Experi-
ments have shown that by the Judi
cious use Of bottles and parafined
packages seeds can be preserved prac-
tically as well In one climate as In
another.
10. OF o series Of experiments the |
average loss in vitality Of seeds kept |
In envelopes in a dry room" was
21.19 per cent; trade conditions"
1858 per cent; basement" 42.2S per |
cent. while the loss in the case of seeds
stored in bottleswa only sos, 1892 and
l.51 per cent. respectively.
In brief, the essential factors in se-
curing good seed are full maturity,
thorough curing and dry, cool quarters
sor storing. Journal.