82 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



house will not grow readily when planted outdoors, so that 

 in testing seeds it is very important to note the vigor of 

 the sprouts. Seeds that start strongly in the house may 

 be safely planted at their proper season outdoors, while 

 those that start only weak sprouts indoors may be worth- 

 less for outdoor planting. An instance bearing on this 

 occurred a- few years ago at Chester, New York, where an 

 onion grower planted seeds three years old which germinated 

 fairly well in his conservatory but failed to grow outdoors, 

 while fresher onion seed sown at the same time grew per- 

 fectly. 



The curing and storing of seeds are matters of much 

 importance and greatly influence their germinating qualities. 

 Seeds should be thoroughly ventilated while being cured, 

 or they will mold or sprout, either of which seriously 

 injures their value. Seeds of some kinds will sprout 

 several times before entirely losing their germinating 

 qualities, but they lose much of their vitality even by once 

 sprouting. Molded seeds may retain their vitality unim- 

 pared, but if to be offered for sale their dark color is 

 objectionable, for it must always be regarded as an evi- 

 dence of neglect in curing. 



It is important also to prevent seeds, especially tropical 

 seeds, as those of melons, squashes, corn, cucumbers, 

 tomatoes, etc., from being frozen until fully dry. The 

 freezing of green or half-cured seeds injures their vitality 

 and often destroys it. This is well known in the case of 

 corn, where the seed taken from an ordinary crib in the 

 spring often fails to grow, while seed corn from the same 

 crop properly cured in a dry, warm room grows perfectly. 



Seeds are much influenced by the temperature and 

 humidity of the place in which they are kept. A dry place 

 is absolutely necessary for successfully keeping -garden seeds, 



