164 AMERICAN HUSBANDRY. 



place, covered, to exclude the light and prevent their 

 drying, or in a dark cellar or room, and the radicles 

 or roots will shoot in a few days, and may then be 

 planted without injury. Having been obliged to sus- 

 pend our planting for four days on account of rain, 

 we found our seed, which had been previously steep- 

 ed and set by in a dark room, with radicles two or 

 three inches long. It was planted, however, with 

 but little inconvenience, and did remarkably well. 

 Mr. J. Nott sprouted" a part of his corn last year, and 

 a part of it was not sprouted ; and, what is worthy 

 the particular notice of farmers, he assures us that 

 the sprouted corn was not hurt by the wire-worm, while 

 the unsprouted seed was seriously injured, although 

 planted by the side of each other. Mr. Nott ac- 

 counts for the difference in this way : the wire-worm 

 attacks the chit, and feeds upon and destroys the 

 germe : but the radicles having already protruded, 

 and not being to the taste of the worm, the insect 

 attacked the solid part of the kernel, where its prog- 

 ress was too slow and too remote from the germe 

 to retard its growth. Mr. Nott also sprouted his 

 mangold-wurzel-seed, and planted it as late as the 

 27th of June. Almost every seed grew, and the 

 crop might be called a good one early in September. 



To sprout garden-seeds, procure two sods of equal 

 size, say eighteen inches square ; place one in the 

 corner of the kitchen chimney, with the grass down ; 

 lay your seeds upon it, and if they are small, wrap 

 thrmjn a piece of brown paper ; then place the other 

 sod upon them, with the grass up ; water well with 

 warm water, and the seeds will sprout in from 

 twenty-four to forty-eight hours. 



There is one manifest advantage in sprouting 

 seeds : it tests their goodness, and shows whether 

 they will or will not grow. A small quantity of 

 seed-corn submit tod to this test before planting, 

 would in many instances prevent great loss to the 

 farmer. 



