io6 



SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS 



144. The Relative Value of Perfect and Inferior Seed. 

 From a number of seeds of the same species select half a 



236. Stem development of seed- 237. Stem development of seedlings 



lings raised from healthy grains of raised under exactly similar conditions 



barley; weight, 39.5 grams (about from the same number of inferior grains; 



500 grs.). weight, 23 grams (about 350 grs.). 



dozen of the largest, heaviest, and most perfect, and an 

 equal number of small, inferior ones. If a pair of scales 

 is at hand, the different sets should be weighed and a 



record kept for 

 comparison with 

 the seedlings at 

 the end of the ex- 

 periment. Plant 

 the two sets in 

 pots containing 

 exactly the same 

 kind of soil, and 

 keep under identi- 

 238 239 cal conditions as 



2 3 8 . 239- Improvement of corn by selection: 238, to light tempera- 

 original type; 239, improved type developed from it. 



ture, and moisture. 



Keep the seedlings under observation for two or three 

 weeks, making daily observations and occasional drawings 

 of the height and size of the stems, and the number of 

 leaves produced by each. 



These experiments can be carried on simultaneously 

 with the study of Seedlings and Growth. It is not 



