IT IS WISE TO PLANT THE LARGEST SEEDS 77 



surface and pressed into the soil, the surface being kept 

 moist by frequent watering. 



Profit in Planting the Largest Seeds. Gardeners who 

 grow radishes and lettuce under glass for the winter mar- 

 ket find that, when they sift their seed and plant only the 

 largest, their crops mature so much more evenly than 

 when they sow the seeds without sifting, that the plants 

 become fit to sell several days earlier. It is sometimes 

 possible to grow one extra crop in the winter in this way. 



Reject Poorly-formed Seeds. Farmers pass their seed 

 grain through a fanning mill, to take out the smallest and 

 most shrunken kernels. Many reject the smaller kernels 

 from the tip ends of their ears of seed corn. By growing 

 their crops from the largest seeds, they secure a larger 

 yield of grain than they would if they planted the seeds 

 without sifting. 



QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES. 



1. Every perfect seed is made up of what two things? 



2. Why should clover seed be planted very shallow? 



3. Why do farmers pass their seed grain through a 

 fanning mill? 



4. What is the advantage to the gardener of planting 

 only the largest seeds? 



5. Pick out all the largest seeds in a sample of radish 

 seeds and plant them in one row. Plant the small radish 

 seeds in another row. Which row first produced radishes 

 large enough to eat? 



