SEED AND SLOW GERMINATION 



early flowering varieties in all tropical or sub-tropical 

 countries, our Southern States and other localities which 

 are frostless or almost so. A little frost will not per- 

 manently harm the Sweet Pea, although it would spoil 

 the expanded and opening flowers. 



SEED AND SLOW GERMINATION 

 The majority of the blue and lavender colored Sweet 

 Peas produce small, poor looking seeds of a mottled 

 appearance, which by the novice may be regarded as 

 of inferior quality, yet it is simply the nature of these 

 varieties to produce such seed, and they are of as good 

 germinative power as the large, round, plump seed 

 which we find in the other colors. 



Some seasons Sweet Peas are slow in germinating 

 or fail to do so altogether. Now, before condemning 

 the seedsman, it is well to find out where the fault 

 lies, and if the grower will take the trouble to carefully 

 examine the seed, nine times out of ten he will find that 

 although they are still perfectly dormant they are quite 

 plump and fresh, and if the outer coating is cut with a 

 sharp knife, taking care not to harm the embryo plant, 

 he will find that in a few days they will germinate 

 freely and well. The reason assigned for this state 

 of affairs is that the seeds have been so well ripened 

 say after a very hot, dry summer that the coating 

 has become so hard as to be quite impervious to mois- 

 ture. 



In the case of new and expensive varieties, many 

 growers have now adopted the method of cutting all 

 the seed ere planting. I recommend soaking the seed 



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