the last leaf, by a fungus growth. Upon rich land, and where there are few insect larvæ working at the roots, there is little or none of this white top, and we are led to reason that the fungus does not attack the stem of the grass until the cells have become weakened in some way. 4. OBSERVATIONS REGARDING THE VITALITY OF THE SEED OF VARIOUS WEEDS. The several subjects submitted to me for answers by the Board of Control have been carefully investigated, and I am able to make the following report: 1. How is the vitality of the seeds of our most common weeds, such as dock, sorrel, chickweed, shepherd's purse, white daisy, etc., affected by the action of the digestive organs of animals? Answer. Seeds of the dock, sorrel, daisy and shepherd's purse were fed to a horse and the refuse collected. Upon careful examination it was found that the seeds, unless crushed, were uninjured, and germinated readily when placed in soil, under proper conditions of heat and moisture. The experiment was repeated several times with the same result. 2. How is the vitality of the common weed seeds, like the above, affected by the action of the compost heap? Answer. Having settled the point that weed seeds are not destroyed by the action of the digestive organs of animals, it becomes important to know how their vitality may be destroyed; for while the thorough farmer should never allow weeds to mature their seeds on his farm, there are many instances where it becomes necessary to provide some means by which chance seeds may be destroyed. A series of experiments were carried out, the result of which is, that seeds are destroyed if exposed to a temperature of from 90° to 110° F. for from five to seven days in a moist compost heap. In a dry compost heap, where the temperature runs as high as the above, the seeds were found but little injured. The tests were applied only to the above-named seeds; but it is probable that the results would be the same upon others, as these are among the seeds of the greatest vitality. The efficiency of this mode of destruction depends upon the maintenance of a continued high temperature and moisture, which will cause the seeds to either germinate and then decay, or to decay before germinating. The amount of moisture can be easily regulated, and by properly working over any pile of compost containing a large amount of organic matter, the required amount of heat may be obtained. From the above experiments it would seem doubtful if the practice of keeping swine upon manure piles, to cause slow decomposition, is the best for manure containing weed seeds. It is also doubtful if the seeds of weeds, often put into the pens where pigs are kept, will be destroyed by the action of the little heat there generated. It would probably be safer, in both of the above cases, to compost the manure in large piles before using it upon the land. 3. At what stage of blooming are the seeds of the white daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) matured enough to germinate? Answer. This weed has become so abundant in the grass land of some sections of the State that it must be cut with the grass, and it becomes important to know if it can be cut with the grass before the seeds mature. After a series of careful examinations it has been decided that when the flower first reaches its full expansion few or no seeds are mature enough to germinate, but that it requires only a few days for these seeds to mature to full ripeness. In view of these facts it would not seem safe for the farmer to depend wholly upon the early stage of cutting, but to afterwards compost all manures made from fodder containing weed seeds of any kind. 5. VITALITY OF SEEDS AS AFFECTED BY AGE. The question of the vitality of seeds as affected by age, is one of great importance to every cultivator of the soil, and while our experiments are far from being complete, as far as the number of varieties are concerned, yet we give the results, hoping at some future time to extend the tests to other varieties of seeds and perhaps to those of greater age. The temperature, moisture and other conditions, during these tests, were made very nearly that required for the best growth of each kind, and duplicate tests were made, in all cases, to insure accuracy. For each test ten seeds were taken, and the results are given below: 6429 1880 1 1 1 100 100 10 4 Festuca Pratensis (Meadow Fescue), 5 Festuca Duriuscula (Hard Fescue), 6 Lolium Perenne (Perennial Rye-grass), Lolium Italicum (Annual Rye-grass), Poa Pratensis (June-grass), 7 8 9 Poa Nemoralis (Wood Meadow-grass), 10 Dactylis Glomerata (Orchard-grass), 11 Agrostis Vulgaris (Red Top), 12 Agrostis Stotonifera (Creeping Bent-grass), Authoxanthum Oderatum,. 13 15 16 17 Alopecurus Pratensis (Meadow Foxtail),. Aira Flexuosa (Hair-grass), Medicago Sativa (Lucerne), |