Cracking of flax seed caused by improper adjustment of combine threshing equipment has reduced the germination and vigor of seedlings, according to this report of studies conducted at University of California, Riverside, and U. S. Department of Agriculture, Brawley in the Imperial Valley. Seedsmen have often placed the blame on fungicidal treatment and long storage; but although mercurial fungicides have some adverse effects, cracked seed is largely responsible for the reduced seedling emergence.