38 THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



seeds harvested in wet weather are likely to be weaker than 

 those harvested in dry weather. 



All seeds should be dry when stored, as they can then stand 

 greater extremes of heat and cold without injury. Seeds will 

 retain their vitality much longer if they are stored where the 

 temperature is mild and constant. Plants whose seeds may lose 

 their vitality quickly are rye, corn, wheat, oats, blue grass, millet, 

 onions, cauliflower, parsnips, celery, and lima beans. Some of 

 those whose seeds retain their vitality for a considerable length 

 of time are clover, alfalfa, common bush and pole beans, garden 

 peas, cabbage, turnips, cucumbers, melons, and squashes. White 

 and red clover seeds that had been buried for thirty-five years 

 under several feet of clay have been known to germinate readily ; 

 but seeds do not live for centuries, as is sometimes stated. 



42. Seed planting. A properly prepared seed bed is the 

 best guaranty of a good crop. Seeds cannot germinate without 

 moisture ; and water is most readily absorbed by seeds if the soil 

 particles are fine and fit closely against them. The smaller and 

 weaker the seeds, the better the seed bed must be. This is 

 one reason why fine garden and flower seeds are often planted 

 in boxes of specially prepared soil and the young seedlings 

 transplanted to the garden or field. 



Seeds must not be planted too deep, and the smaller and 

 weaker they are, the shallower they should be planted. Timothy 

 seeds, for example, should not be planted as deep as corn or lima 

 beans because when planted at a considerable depth they do not 

 contain food enough to support a plant until it reaches the sur- 

 face. When the ground is cool, early in the spring, all kinds of 

 seeds should be planted only deep enough to obtain the moisture 

 required for germination. 



43. Propagation by bud growth. A bud is merely a growing- 

 point. Two kinds of bud growth are concerned in propagation 

 that from visible, or true, buds, such as are seen on the tips and 

 along the sides of young twigs or stems ; and that from adven- 

 titious buds, which arise from the growing layers of stem, leaf, 

 or root. 



