SEED AGE. 2I 



supplied from the atmosphere. Such fine seeds are rarely 

 watered directly, as even the most careful treatment would be 

 likely to dislodge them. The soil is usually well watered before 

 the seeds are sown, or moisture may be supplied by inserting 

 the pot in water nearly to its rim for a few moments. If water 

 is applied from a rose, a thin cloth should first be spread on the 

 soil to hold it. Celery seeds, in out-door beds, are often sown 

 upon a nicely prepared surface and are then pressed in by means 

 of the feet or a board. Some cover to prevent evaporation 

 should be given all small seeds. This may be a board or a 

 slate slab at first, but as soon as the plants appear glass should 

 be substituted to admit light. (See pp. n to 14.) 



Large seeds demand much less care as to depth of covering, 

 as a rule. One-fourth or one-half inch is a good depth for most 

 coarse seeds in-doors. If one wishes to guage the depth accu- 

 rately, the drills may be made by a planting stick, like that 

 shown in Fig. 8. Its flange is made of the required thickness, 



and it is pressed into the soil 

 until the cap strikes the sur- 

 face. This is a useful imple- 

 ment in seed testing. An- 

 other device for regulating the 



Fig. 8. Planting Stick. de P th of sowin g- particularly 



in seed testing, is the Tracy 



planter, shown in Fig. 9. It consists of two strips of heavy tin 

 plate about three inches wide, hung upon two wire pivots or 

 hinges some two inches long. At their upper edges and equi- 

 distant from either end, the plates are joined by a firm spiral 

 spring, which serves to throw the upper edges apart, and to 

 cause the lower edges to join. This trough is now filled with 

 the required number of seeds, and is then inserted into the earth 

 to a given depth, when the fingers push inward on the spring 

 and the trough opens and delivers the seeds. 



Miscellaneous Matters. The influence which light exerts 

 upon germination is not definitely understood. It is known, 

 however, that seeds will often germinate in full sunlight, if the 

 proper conditions of moisture and temperature can be main- 



