ADDITIONAL PAPERS. 



249 



as the cucumbers; others, Hke the bean, corn, onions, etc., 

 will retain life but two or three years. This difiference vary- 

 ing somewhat according to the way they are harvested and 

 stored and to the class of seeds, whether oily or starchy, the 

 starchy lasting the longer. If the seeds are gathered while 

 unripe and are poorly ventilated while being cured, they are 

 apt to sprout of mould, either of which seriously injures and 

 lessens the vitality. Many of the tropical seeds, if frozen 

 before they are dry, will often be destroyed. As an illustra- 

 tion, take corn ; if the seed is not cured well and it is frozen 

 and becomes mouldy, it will when planted nearly always fail 

 to grow, while corn from the same crop, properly cured, will 

 hardly ever fail to gemiinate and live. This leads us to know 

 what is the proper way of curing and storing of seeds. 



Seeds are much influenced by the temperature and humid- 

 ity of the atmosphere in which they are stored ; therefore, a 

 dry place with an even temperature are the necessary condi- 

 tions for keeping seeds in the best form. For tropical plant 

 seeds, the warmer the atmosphere the better. The temper- 

 ature and conditions of a living room is ideal for storing. 



The length of time it requires seeds to germinate depends 

 mostly upon the temperature and moisture of the soil. If the 

 soil is damp and cold, or at a temperature below 50 degrees, 

 the seeds will germinate very slowly, if at all. If the soil 

 be damp and hot, or having a temperature of 65 degrees to 

 80 degrees, they will germinate in the quickest time possible, 

 varying much with the kind of seed. 



The size of the aeed has nothing to do with the length of 

 time it takes for germination, as the radish and the bean 

 require about the same amount of time, while one is small 

 and the other large. Another important fact to know is that 

 some seeds grow better if placed in the right position in the 

 soil, as, for instance, seeds that have large seed leaves, like 

 the lima beans ; these are better to have the eye placed down- 

 ward, or the seed may germinate and die, as the body of the 

 bean is unable to come to the surface of the ground. 



The depth that they should be planted varies with the 

 dififerent kinds of seeds and the conditions of the season. A 

 depth of one-half to one inch is generally sufficient. If the 



