208 AGRICULTURE. 



lots (each kind at the proper depth) in a box of sand; 

 the other lot place in a shallow dish of water, and soak 

 for ten or twelve hours; then plant these seeds in the 

 sand at the same depth and under the same conditions 

 as the first lot. 



(c) Note and tabulate the time of the appearance of 

 the seedlings of the soaked and unsoaked seeds of each 

 kind. 



(d) Was the time of germination of each kind short- 

 ened by the soaking ? Were any seeds damaged by 

 soaking? 



EXPERIMENT 20. (a) Select seeds, as in the above ex- 

 periment. Soak one-half of each kind, as before. 



(6) Now separate the soaked and the unsoaked seeds 

 each into three lots. 



(c) Plant one lot of each (the soaked and unsoaked) 

 in dry soil, another in moist soil, and the third in wet 

 soil, other conditions being the same for each. 



(d) Tabulate, and compare results. 



(e) What does this experiment teach concerning the 

 condition of the soil with regard to moisture at the time 

 of planting seeds? 



3 Air. 



EXPERIMENT 21. (a) Fill a pot with moist sand or 

 mellow garden soil, and another pot with clay or loam 

 that has been wet and well stirred until about the con- 

 sistency of paste. Now plant in each pot several 

 beans, peas, or grains of corn, pressing them in and 

 carefully smoothing over the top. 



(b] Place both pots under the same external con- 

 ditions. If the puddle clay or loam cracks, moisten it, 

 and again press the surface smooth. 



(c] Observe and note results. What fills the inter- 

 stices in the jar of moist sand or soil ? What in the 

 puddled clay? Do the seeds in each pot germinate 



