EXERCISE 8 



WHEN TO PLANT SEEDS 



Statement. The miniature plant in the seed requires, in addition to the food stored there, proper 

 conditions of temperature, moisture, light, and soil for its growth. Plants differ in their require- 

 ments in these respects. Some seeds may be safely sown in winter or early spring, and others only 

 in summer. Some require fertile soil, others will thrive on poor land. 



Object. A study of the difference in the power of the seeds of different farm and garden crops to 

 germinate at comparatively low temperatures or when planted in the cold soil of early spring and a 

 comparison of the power of the different plants to withstand freezing and to grow during cool weather. 



Materials. Fifty seeds each of timothy, white clover, alfalfa, mustard, cabbage, turnips, rape, whea t, 

 oats, barley, corn, cotton, cowpeas, garden peas, and lima beans. 



Directions. If land is available outside of the schoolroom, plant ten seeds of each kind in 

 beds in the fall, about the time the farmers of the neighborhood have finished sowing their winter 

 wheat or as early in the spring as the farmers sow their oats. Fill in the blank form on the opposite 

 page. If outside land is not available, the seeds may be planted in pots or boxes in the schoolroom 

 at any time in late autumn or early spring. By exposing to the weather the pots or boxes in which the 

 seeds are planted, the desired climatic conditions may be obtained. 



Record the number of plants produced in each bed, the date when the first plant appeared in each, 

 and how cold, weather affects the growth of each. Find the origin of each of the plants whose 

 seeds are being tested and see whether there is any relation between the climate in which they orig- 

 inated and the power of the seeds to germinate at a low temperature and of the young plants to with- 

 stand a freezing temperature. 



Questions. Which plants withstood the frost and freezing temperature ? Which were, killed ? 

 What do differences in reaction to cold suggest as to the season in which the different crops should 

 be planted? In what order would you plant the following spring-sown crops: oats, rape, corn, garden 

 peas, cowpeas, sorghum, barley, cotton, lima beans, kafir, and milo? 



References. Waters, H. J. Essentials of Agriculture, p. 38. Ginn and Company. Piper, C. V. 

 Forage Plants and their Culture, pp. 86-87. The Macmillan Company. Osterhout, W. J. V. Experiments 

 with Plants, p. 352. The Macmillan Company. Hopkins, C. G. Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture, 

 p. 576. Ginn and Company. 



[16] 



