How Seedlings Get Established 21 



absorbed more rapidly. In dry times the seeds often 

 germinate more quickly in the tracks made by per- 

 sons walking across the field. Gardeners often pack the 

 surface with a spade or board or roller, after sowing 

 the seeds. When moisture is scarce in the soil, as is quite 

 often the case at the planting time of field seeds, a most 

 practical and successful way to secure the germination 

 of seeds in drills is to make the laying- off plow or 

 tool cut a deep V-shaped furrow in the compact soil, 

 into which the seeds are dropped and covered to the 

 proper depth with 

 fine soil. This V- 

 shaped furrow affords 

 two banks of undis- 

 turbed soil holding 



1 / , '////////////////////////////////////S///////W 



a supply of moisture Fig 18 . Planting ^ in the ., water fur . 



for the Seed. (Fig. 18.) row" insures a more even supply of 



34. Prompt Germi- moisture. 



nation Important. Seeds that germinate quickly give 

 more vigorous plants. Besides, seeds in the ground 

 may be destroyed by insects, or caused to rot by fungi 

 and bacteria, or rains may come and make a hard crust 

 on the surface through which they cannot grow. Vig- 

 orous-growing weeds may crowd out slow-growing seed- 

 lings. Prompt germination may be secured under field 

 conditions by thoroughly preparing the seed bed, and 

 delaying planting until the soil is warmed sufficiently 

 for the kind of seed to be planted. 



35. Time Required to Complete Germination. The 

 plantlets are nourished for a time by the reserve food 

 in the seed. While the plantlet is dependent on this 

 reserve food, it is called a "seedling." The root develops 

 faster at first, with the result that the plantlet secures 



