28 PRODUCTIVE FARMING 



Folds of wet cloth may be made. A lot of seeds with its 

 label is placed in each fold. This is carefully placed in a cov- 

 ered pan in a warm place. If a hundred seeds are taken each 

 time, the per cent of germination is more exactly expressed. 



Exercise. — To Test Seeds. — Have grains and garden seeds 

 brought to school. Have them counted, labeled, and tested 

 by each method described here. Winter and early spring 

 are good times to make such trials with seeds. 



Exercise. — Size of Seeds. — From a large package of 

 radish seeds, select 100 of the largest, and another 100 of 

 the smallest. Make sprouting tests of these two lots, by 



Fig. 13. — A convenient home apparatus for testing seeds. The seeds are germi- 

 nated between wet cloths or blotters. The plates help to hold the moisture. 

 (Agricultural Education.) 



planting them in a shallow box of moist sand or soil. Keep 

 them in separate rooms, and label them. Does the result 

 sho)v that gardeners should select large seeds? Could this 

 be done with sieves? 



Buy the Best. — It seldom pays to buy cheap seeds. The 

 age, size, weight, purity, and vitality should always be deter- 

 mined before purchasing. 



Cheap seeds are sometimes mixed with better seeds if 

 the two kinds look much alike. Old seeds which have nearly 

 lost their life are sometimes made fresh looking by using 

 fumes of sulphur. These are then mixed with good seeds 

 and sold. Such mixtures are called adulterations. 



Immature seeds are those not fully ripened; such seed 

 cannot sprout well. To sprout under ordinary field con- 

 ditions, the seed must be fully matured. 



