Methods of Propagation 



73 



The table on next page shows the number of days it took various vege- 

 table crops to germinate from seeds sown in the open air. 



Vitality of Seeds. While some seeds retain their vitality or power 

 of germinating for twenty years or more, it is generally safer to utilize 

 fresh and well-ripened seed to secure good plants. The stories circulated 

 as to the seeds of "mummy" wheat germinating after two thousand or 

 three thousand years have been discredited long ago, and need not be 

 considered. As a rule, fleshy seeds like Peas, Beans, Acorns, Horse- 

 chestnuts, Sweet Chestnuts, and Walnuts lose their germinating powers 

 more readily than smaller and less fleshy seeds; but the latter also 

 deteriorate if kept more than two or three years. In the case of 

 Cucumbers and Melons, growers generally consider that they obtain a 



