3134 



SEEDS AND SEEDAGE 



SEEDS AND SEEDAGE 



ing stage. Castor 

 bean. 



conditions and to push themselves through the soil. 

 The sprouting test made in a specially prepared device, 

 in which all conditions are regulated to a nicety, may 

 be of the greatest value for purposes of scientific study 

 and investigation and for the making of comparative 

 tests between various samples, and the greater the 

 sprouting test, the greater the germi- 

 nating power; but one must not expect 

 that the actual germination will always 

 be as great as the percentage of sprout- 

 ing. The test for sprouting shows only 

 which seeds are alive. In many cases, 

 ^ e differences in results between the 

 sprouting test in a specially prepared 

 device and the germination tests in well-prepared soil 

 in the open may be as great as 50 per cent. Viability 

 varies with seasons and other conditions. While it is 

 true as a general statement that the older the seed the 

 less the viability, yet the reverse may be true within 

 narrow limits. Sometimes lettuce and melons that 

 germinate only 50 per cent in December, germinate 70 

 to 80 per cent in April. For a discussion of technical 

 methods of seed-testing, see Vol. II, "Cyclopedia of 

 American Agriculture," and other works. 



In order that seeds shall germinate, they must be 

 supplied with moisture and be given a definite tempera- 

 ture. The requisite temperature and moisture vary 

 with the different kinds of seeds, and these factors are 

 to be determined only by experience. Seeds may be 

 planted in any medium that supplies these requisite 

 conditions. Although seeds are ordinarily planted in 

 the ground, such practice is not necessary to germina- 

 tion. They may be planted in coconut fiber, moss, or 

 other medium. However, the ground may supply the 

 requisites for germination, and it also supplies plant- 

 food for the young plantlet when it begins to shift for 

 itself; and, furthermore, the plants are in the position 

 in which it is desired they shall grow. In the case of 

 many seeds, germination is more rapid and certain 

 when the seeds are sown in coconut fiber or other 

 medium, for the conditions may be more uniform. As 

 soon as germination is fairly complete, the plants are 

 transplanted to the soil. 



The depth at which seeds shall be sown depends on 

 many conditions. Out-of-doors they are planted deeper 

 than in the house, in order to insure a uniform supply of 

 moisture. A depth equal to twice the diameter of the 

 seed is an old gardeners' rule. This applies well to the 

 sowing of most seeds under 

 glass when the soil is well 

 prepared and is kept moist, 

 but in the open ground three 

 to four times this depth is 

 usually necessary. The finer 

 and moister the soil, the 

 shallower the seeds may be 

 planted, other things being 

 equal. Better results in ger- 

 mination are secured when 

 the seeds are sown in a speci- 

 ally prepared seed-bed. The 

 conditions may then be 

 better, the gardener is able 

 to protect the young plants 

 from cold and from insects 

 and fungi, and he is enabled 

 also to economize time and labor. In transplanting from 

 the seed-bed to the field, the gardener unconsciously 

 chooses only the best plants and thereby the crop is 

 improved. The seed-bed may be in a forcing-house or 

 hotbed, or in the open. If it is in the open, it should be 

 near the buildings, where it can be visited frequently 

 and where water may be applied as needed. If the bed 

 is to be used late in the season when the soil is naturally 

 dry, it is well to cover it the previous spring or fall with 

 a coating of not too rich manure. This retains the mois- 



3594. Germination complete. 

 Castor bean. 



3595. Sprouting stage 

 of Indian corn. 



ture, and the leaching from the manure adds plant- 

 food to the soil, thereby enabling the young plants to 

 secure an early start. When the seeds are to be sown, 

 the manure is removed and the surface is then in perfect 

 condition. In the handling of young plants in seed- 

 beds, one must take pains that the plants are not too 

 thick and that they do not suffer for light, else they 

 may become "drawn" and be practically 

 worthless. In greenhouses and hotbeds, it 

 is well to handle common vegetables and 

 flower seeds in gardeners' flats (Fig. 3597). 

 These flats are easily handled, and the soil 

 is so shallow that it can be 

 kept in uniform conditions 

 of temperature and mois- 

 ture. The seeds of some of 

 the finer and rarer kinds of 

 ornamental plants require 

 special treatment. These 

 treatments are usually specified in the articles devoted 

 to those plants. Details of the handling of very deli- 

 cate seeds are well discussed in the article on Orchids; 

 see the article Palm and others, and the discussion of 

 propagation of conifers, page 360, Vol. I. 



As a rule, seeds germinate best when they are fresh, 

 that is, less than one year old. Some seeds, however, 

 of which those of melons, pumpkins, and cucumbers are 

 examples, retain their vitality unimpaired for a number 

 of years, and gardeners do not ask for recent stock. 

 Seeds of corn-salad should be a year old to germinate 

 well. Very hard bony seeds, as of haws and viburnums, 

 often do not germinate until the second year. In the 

 meantime, however, they should be kept moist. Seeds 

 of most fruit and forest trees should be kept moist and 

 cool, otherwise they lose vitality ; yet if kept too moist, 

 and particularly too close or warm, they will spoil. 

 Nuts and hard seeds of hardy plants usually profit by 

 being buried in sand and allowed to freeze. The freez- 

 ing and the moisture soften and split the integuments. 

 Sometimes the seeds are placed between alternate 

 layers of sand or sawdust: such practice is known 

 technically as stratification. L. H. B. 



Seed-breeding and -growing. 



Seed-breeding may be considered from at least two 

 very distinct viewpoints: first, the origination and 

 development of new and improved varieties, either 

 through selection or cross-breeding; and second, the 

 development and raising of truer purer stocks of strains 

 of proved value. See Breeding of Plants, Vol. I. 



The first, as a rule, seems the most attractive 

 inversely to one's knowledge and experience, but the 

 growing of better and purer strains of the sorts which 

 have proved best suited to one's local conditions and 

 individual requirements is of far greater practical value. 

 An important consideration of success in raising new 

 varieties is the widest obtainable knowledge not only of 

 the varietal forms of the species generally grown, but of 

 the many stocks which at different times and in different 

 locations have been found to be of so little practical 

 value that 'they have never come into general cultiva- 

 tion. A second requisite is familiarity with the grow- 

 ing habits of the plant, and those of similar species, 

 and the dexterity which can come only through practice 

 in the crossing of the flowers and securing good growth 

 and development of the fruits. There should also be 

 developed a capacity for a quick judgment as to the 

 probable correlation between conspicuous variations 

 with others less discernible by the eye but which may 

 effect the cultural value. Lastly, the development of 

 new varieties of real value can come only through the 

 practice of almost infinite patience which makes one 

 content to throw into the dump thousands upon thou- 

 sands of plants, many of which had seemed most prom- 

 ising, and to be satisfied if after years of labor one 



