— 54 — 

 Giant Yelloiv Globe Rocca. — Department of Agri- 



39. Onion, 



culture. 



50 seeds in 5-inch seed-pans, X i"cli deep in sand 

 house ; Nos. 4-6, in incubator. 

 No. I, soaked 10 hours. 

 No. 2, soaked 20 hours. 

 No. 3, soaked 30 hours. 



Nos. 1-3, in forcing- 



No. 4, soaked 10 hours. 

 No. 5, soaked 20 hours, 

 No. 6, soaked 30 hours. 



SOWN MARCH 29. 



Epito7ne. — The results are conflicting, and indicate that marked 

 dijBFerences from different periods of soaking are less likely to occur 

 in onions than in some other seeds. 



CONCLUSIONS Drawn from the Foregoing Tests upon the Influences 

 of Soaking upon the Sprouting of Seeds. 



1. Great gain in rapidity of sprouting, counting from the time 

 of planting, may be expected as a rule, if seeds are previously 

 soaked in water ; and the longer the .seeds are soaked, within rea- 

 sonable limits, the greater is usually the gain in rapidity of sprout- 

 ing. This fact is interesting, in face of the experience that very 

 profuse watering after sowing gives an opposite result. (Cf. § 11.) 



2. This gain in rapidity of sprouting in soaked samples is really 

 fictitious, however, inasuuich as germination actually begins in 

 the soaked seeds before the dry samples are sown. In truth, the 

 soaked seeds are sown earlier than the dry ones. If this advance 

 in period of sowing is added to the date of sowing of the dry 

 seeds, it will be found that dry seeds as a rule sprout fully as early 

 as soaked seeds, and many times nuich earlier. 



3. Total amount of sprouting does not appear to be influenced 

 by soaking. 



4. Similar results are not to' be expected from all species of 

 plants. 



