Semi-weekly herald., 1910-02-07

l
lots and place a piece of cloth on
| eaon plate of one of the lots. Divide
the area of the plate into small sec
lions by creasing the cloth, and place
a small piece of paper with a NUM-
ber on It in each section If pieces
of blotter are used insteai of cloth
cut them Just the size oi the plate
and mark off as many IL or Finch
squares on them as possible. Mum
| ber each section the same as the
ears are numbered.
Remove six kernels f'oIa ear mum
ber one, two from near the tip tthe
very tip and butt kernels should be
removed and discarded Wien shelling
for seet); two at the centnr, and two
near the butt, and place thea in space
number one on the plates. Continue
removing kernels from ears and plac
ing them ia correspondence numbered
spaces on the plates until all are used.
and place over the kernels. Cover
each plate of kernels with an inverted
plate and set in warm place. Corn
terminates best at temperature al
ternating between So and So degrees
F., representing in way what ac-
tually takes place in nature, The high
e. temperature prevailing during the
| day and the lower at night. It is i'm
| portant that the temperature does not
get too low at night; drop below 81
degrees f. will seriously affect the
reliability of the test Temperatures
such as are usually found near the
stove or furnace in an ordinary coun
try home approach the proper condi
tions quite well.
Examine the plates occasionally
and If the cloths become dry, moisten
them by sprinkllng little wafer over
The top.
Counting the Sprouts.
After about ihree or four days the
kernels will begin to sprout, but the
counting should not be done unit
about the sixth day, when most Of
the sprouts will be about / to L u
inches long. All ears, every kerne
OF which terminates and shows good
healthy sprouts, should be tail en- fol
| seed. If one of The six kernels fails
TO germinate or shows even weal
plant, the ear which they rel resent
should be discarded, since sucl ears
show lack of vigor.
Other Germinators.
There are many other styles CT ger
minators, such as a shallow box two
feet square with thin layer of mois
sawdust or sand in the bottom. II
| sand or sawdust is not at hand the
bottom of the box may be covered
with several thicknesses of moistened
cloth. over this lay piece of cot
| ton flannel which has been marked
ont INTO 2-inch squares. Number the
squares and place the kernels from
tie correspondingly numbered ear,
H. them. Over the kernels place sew
e'iil layers of moistened cotton flan
nel or a single layer covered witt
moistened sawdust or sand.
| Planting the seed directly H. mois
sand is also good method, and Il
has the advantage of having the sset
In conditions more nearly like those
OF the field.
Testing Other Seeds.
The principal difference between
the testing of corn and the othe,
types of seeds is that seeds in bull
are tested by taking indiscriminatel,
a well mixed sample of about 100
seeds from the lot to be tested ant
placing them in the tester. After
they have been in The tester lone
enough, the percentage of germination
Is obtained by dividing the number
that germinate well by the total nun
Der placed in the tester For seed the
size of pease beaus etc. IL is rec.
omm"nded to use ioo seeds; while for
! those The size OF clover and timothy.
100 seeds usually give better results.
| Where 1t is available. blott,ng pa.
pr is usually preferred to cotton
flannel, for the smaller seeds. while
the cloth is perhaps better ior the
larger kinds. Blotting paper should
never be used but once; cloth,, how.
ever may be used repeatedly If they
are well washed in hot water.
Good stands of farm crops are. nee
essary for good yields, and good seed
is absolutely necessary for good
stands, consequently the best yields
Will never become the rule until the
termination test becomes more uni
Versally used than it is at the present
time. 1t is too late to lock Lne barn
| door after the horse is stolen. conse
quently test your seed before 1t is
planted, and not while part of it is
coming up in the field
ID. w. FREAR,
Colorado Agricultural College, Fort
Collins.
WORKING PEOPLES MouFy