178 GERMINATION 



plants. Plant in pots or shallow boxes. Cigar-boxes are excellent. 

 The depth of planting should be two to three times the diameter of 

 the seeds. It is well to begin the planting of seeds at least ten days 

 in advance of the lesson, and to make four or five different plantings 

 at intervals. A day or two before the study is taken 

 up, put seeds to soak in moss or cloth. The pupil 

 then has a series from swollen seeds to complete ger- 

 mination, and all the steps can be made out. Dry 

 seeds should be had for comparison. 



Good seeds for study are those detailed in the les- 

 son, — bean, castor bean, corn. Pea is a good plant to 

 contrast with bean. (Fig. 322.) Make drawings and 

 notes of all the events in the germination. Note the 

 effects of unusual conditions, as planting too deep and 

 too shallow and different sides up. For hypogeal ger- 

 mination, use the garden pea, scarlet runner or Dutch 

 case-knife bean, acorn, horse-chestnut. Squash seeds 

 are excellent for germination studies, because the coty- 

 ledons become green and leafy and germination is rapid. 

 Its germination, as also that of the scarlet runner bean, 

 is explained in "Lessons with Plants." Onion is ex- 

 cellent, except that it germinates too slowly. In order 

 to study the root development of germinating plantlets, it is well 

 to provide a deep box with a glass side against which the seeds are 

 planted. 



Observe the germination of any seed that is common about the 

 premises. Where elms and maples are abundant, the germination of 

 their seeds may be studied in lawns and along fences. Figs. 323 to 

 330 suggest observations on the Norway maple, which is a common 

 ornamental tree. 



