SEED DIVISION. 57 



The best of seeds, shabbily treated, are liable to fail. Much, wet, cold 

 weather will prove fatal to some, while others will go right on; moder- 

 ate drought will destroy the germs of some, while others will withstand 

 a protracted one. For instance, the espcrience of all gardeners is that 

 seed germs of cucumbers, squashes, melons of all kinds, lima beans, 

 sweet corn, and wrinkled peas cannot survive protracted, cold, wet 

 wenther, while those of the carrot, beet, onion, turnip, lettuce, and sal- 

 sify will withstand the trial a great deal longer. 



The careless or inexperienced may plant too deep or too shallow, and 

 the aim of the man, woman, or child, who is to run a farmer's garden, 

 should be to inform himself regarding; the characteristics of different 

 seeds in this respect, so that bad results shall not follow. 



A committee of the British Association expended much time and 

 money in making a fair and thorough research as to the age at which 

 seeds would grow, and published the result of their work. It was shown 

 that less than half of the corn three years old sprouted; millet seed, 

 less than half; oats at three years were about three-fourths good, and at 

 eight less than one-sixth ; wheat at three years a little over half, and 

 at eight and nine years did not grow at all; rye at three years practi- 

 cally none; barley at three years from one-half to two-thirds, but at 

 eight and upwards did not germinate. It is unnecessary to say that 

 these experiments can be entirely relied upon. The seeds were care- 

 fully kept in waxed cloth and in scaled jars. 



On the other hand, Messrs. Tiegham and Gaston Benaier say that of 

 a hundred peas i)reserved in the free air ninety afterward germinated; 

 of a hundred inclosed with air in a sealed tube, only forty-five; while 

 of a lot kept in carbonic acid gas none grew. Similar results were 

 obtained with other seeds, shov/ing clearly that all seeds should be 

 stored where pure air may have full access to them. This difference of 

 opinion shows that there is still a wide fiekl for exx3eriment. 



GERMINATION OF SEEDS. 



In 1860, a noted seedsman of Erfurt, France, M. Appelius, made the 

 following statements regarding the germination of seeds : 



The method of testing a sample of seeds hy their specific weight and density is 

 good, but not infallible. Ifc may fref[ucntly mislead, particularly in the case of seeds 

 whose specific gravity differs little from that of water. Fur example, those cucurbi- 

 taceous plants which are produced during cold seasons float upon the water and nev- 

 ertheless germinate very well. Good seeds of the melon and gourd lose weight as 

 t;hey grow old without becoming bad. Wo conclude, therefore, in this case as in many 

 others, that trial by water is iiot a sure test. The specific gravity of oily .seed is often 

 nearly the same as that of water, although in some cases heavier, as cabbage, for ex- 

 ample. The lightest seeds are those of umbelliferous x)lants, such as carrots, parsnips, 

 anise, &c., and of composites, such as lettuces, scorzoneras, ».te. In tiie hrst of these 

 fauiilies the lightness of the seeds arises from the presence of an oil in the case which 

 incloses the seed, and of air in the last. 



The test of heat and moisture, 59^ to 75° F., is convenient and tolerably sure for 

 clover, peas, and the cereals, but does not answer for those which require a long time 

 to germinate. For these the best practical plan is to grow a sample in a pot. Even 

 this will not always give a strictly correct indication of the germinating power of 

 seeds, since the result depends, all other circumstances being equal, upon the care 

 taken in sowing, the temperature of the air, the depth at wliich seed is sown, and 

 the time of year, &c. Thus, the pips of apples and pears almost always germinate 

 badly when the trial is made in pots soon after they are ripe, whilst they answer per- 

 fectly if they are sown at the end of October or March in beds in the open air. For 

 this reason it often happens that a sample is pronounced bad when in reality it is ex- 

 cellent. Soil that is used to cover the trial seedlings also considerably affects the 

 result. If rye-grass seed is sown in soil which retains moisture with average tenacity, 

 and is buried 1 inch below the surface, seven-eighths of it grows in twelve days and 

 proportionably fewer seeds geminate and require a longer period of time for it accord- 



