PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 205 



(<:) Saturate several thicknesses of heavy blotting- 

 paper, and fit them into shallow flats or plates ; now 

 place the seeds directly upon this moist paper. (If very 

 fine seeds, put them upon squares of cheese-cloth spread 

 upon the paper.) Cover the flats with pieces of window- 

 glass, leaving crevices to admit air. Each day note 

 carefully, and remove the number of seeds which sprout. 



(</) What per cent, of seeds was vital ? What does 

 the time required for sprouting indicate regarding their 

 vitality ? Could the same results be expected from out- 

 door conditions? Would a farmer be justified in plant- 

 ing the seeds from which these samples were taken ? 

 Does not this test warrant the revision of the old adage, 

 " Taste and try before you buy," to " Test and try be- 

 fore you buy," in this case ? 



Factors influencing the vitality of seeds are : 

 (i) The time of gathering; (2) the condition 

 of the parent plant ; (3) the age of the seeds, 

 and (4) the method of their preservation. 



EXPERIMENT 16. (a) Take seeds of several garden 

 or farm crops as, wheat, corn, beans, peas, radishes, let- 

 tuce, and apples which have been gathered at intervals 

 during the growing season, so that two stages (imma- 

 turity, maturity) in the development of the seeds may 

 be represented. 



(ft) Note the date of gathering, the appearance of the 

 seeds, and the condition of the parent plant at each of 

 these stages. 



(f) Plant those of each stage in a separate row and 

 label the rows. 



(d] Observe, compare, and tabulate the time of appear- 

 ance of each seedling. 



(e] From your results in this experiment, what effect 

 do you conclude the time of gathering has upon the vital- 



