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New York AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 337 
the market of that kind germinates readily while with other plants 
it is necessary at all times to exercise great care in order to get 
seeds that have been properly selected, properly kept, and that are 
not too old. Thus asparagus seed after the second year is evidently 
questionable in value and had better be avoided. Beet seed of less 
than five years of age need not be discarded on account of age 
alone. Cabbage seed apparently loses value rapidly after the fourth 
year. Celery seed is difficult to germinate even when fresh and 
care should be taken to get seed not more than one year old. 
Cucumbers, watermelons, and muskmelons may be classed together 
as having seed that is very resistant to the destructive influences 
of age and that even show better germinating power when five or 
six years old than when fresh. This has been corroborated by the 
practical experience of gardeners elsewhere. In the case of egg- 
plant the investigator calls attention to the importance of remov- 
ing all abortive seeds, as with this and some other plants furnish- 
ing small seeds “the difference in the percentage of germinations 
is due rather to the percentage of empty seed cases present than 
‘to any lessened vitality of the true seeds. Lettuce furnishes a seed, 
which, although it is small, will keep four or five years under 
ordinary conditions without deterioration. Onion seed should in 
all cases be fresh as it loses vitality very rapidly after the first 
year. Tomato seed is apparently one of the most enduring of all 
seeds, deteriorating but little after ten or fifteen years of storage, 
and turnip seed has keeping qualities almost if not quite as good. 
By consulting such tables as these the planter can determine whether 
it is probably best to plant old seed on hand or secure a fresh 
supply. However, as is mentioned above, the answer depends 
partially upon how the seed has been kept. 
A seed question in which much interest has been expressed at 
various times is that of the comparative value of large and small 
seeds. Possibly a more intelligent view may be obtained of this 
subject by a brief statement of what constitutes a seed. From the 
standpoint of the botanist or vegetable physiologist a seed consists 
of: 1st. The rudimentary plantlet, commonly called the germ or 
embryo. 2nd. The endosperm or stored food on which the plantlet 
lives until its roots are established in the soil and its leaves exposed 
to the sunlight. In the case of many plants the endosperm is not 
separate from the plantlet, stored food being contained in what are 
known as the cotyledons or seed leaves. 3d. The seed coat, a cover- 
ing of the parts already mentioned, varying in density and character 
