22 THE SEED SUPPLY 



too long before sowing, they may fail to grow when planted, or 

 so large a percentage of them fail to grow that the stand will be 

 poor. The only way to be absolutely certain that any given lot 

 of seeds will grow is to make a germination test. In order to be 

 sure of sending out reliable seeds, it is the practice of seedsmen 

 nowadays to test each lot of seeds before putting them up for the 

 trade. 



One of the best ways of making a germination test is to count 

 out 100 seeds and plant them in the soil of a greenhouse bench 

 or a hotbed. By counting the seedlings that appear the percentage 

 of germination can be determined. Other ways of making ger- 

 mination tests are to place the seeds in a plate of moist sand cov- 

 ered by another plate, or between two sheets of moist blotting 

 paper. In all germination tests the medium surrounding the seeds 

 must be kept moist and warm until the test is over, A person 

 who grows his own seeds should test them before planting. 



Some seeds normally show a much lower percentage of germi- 

 nation than others. The following standards of germination have 

 been adopted by the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 and any samples that equal or exceed these standards may be 

 considered as satisfactory for planting, so far as germination is 

 concerned. 



Table I, — Standards of Germination for Vegetable Seeds 



Asparagus 80-85 Okra 80-85 



Bean 90-95 Onion 80-85 



Beet 150* Parsley 70-75 



Cabbage 90-95 Parsnip 70-75 



Carrot 80-85 Pea 93-98 



Cauliflower 80-85 Pepper 80-85 



Celery 60-65 Pumpkin 85-90 



Com, Sweet 85-90 Radish 90-95 



Cress 85-90 Salsify 75-80 



Cucumber 85-90 Spinach 80-85 



Eggplant 75-80 Squash 85-90 



Lettuce 85-90 Tomato 85-90 



Melon 85-90 Turnip 90-95 



Mustard 90-95 



Longevity of Vegetable Seeds. — Some kinds of seeds normally 

 retain their vitality much longer than others, so that old seed of 

 some sorts may be perfectly reUable, while seeds of the same age 



* The beet " seed " is really a fruit, and usually contains more than one seed. 



