The Gathering and Storing of Seeds. 105 



Seeds of many annual and biennial plants, as the cereals, 

 cabbage etc., may germinate as soon as set free by the 

 parent plant, but those of many annual weeds and of 

 most trees and shrubs will not germinate until some 

 months afterward. 



Seeds necessarily gathered immature will often ripen 

 sufficiently for germination if a considerable part of the 

 plant is plucked and cured with them. 



Germinating seeds in which the germination process is 

 stopped by undue drying are not always destroyed. 

 Germination may be resumed on access to water. Seeds 

 of different species differ widely in this respect. Those 

 of the parsnip and carrot cannot endure much drying 

 during germination, while those of the cereals may be 

 repeatedly dried at ordinary temperatures without de- 

 stroying their vitality. 



164. Immature versus Ripe Seeds. Seeds not fully 

 grown lack a part of their normal food supply, and their 

 embryo is probably imperfectly developed. If capable 

 of germination, they rarely, if ever, produce vigorous 

 plants. As a rule, the most vigorous plants come from 

 fully-matured seeds. Immature seeds, persistently used, 

 may tend to reduced vigor, early maturity, dwarfness 

 and shortened life. In some over- vigorous plants, as the 

 tomato, slightly immature seed may tend to increased 

 fruitfulness. 



Slightly immature seeds usually germinate sooner than 

 fully matured ones. 



165. The Vitality of all Seeds is Limited by Age, but the 

 duration of the vital period varies greatly in different 

 species. Seeds of the chervil rarely germinate if much 



