The Story-Book of the Fields 



rose, the hawthorn, and several fruit trees 

 with kernels, take two years and more. 

 Generally speaking, seeds with thick and hard 

 envelopes are slowest to germinate, because 

 of the resistance that they offer to the pene- 

 tration of moisture. Seeds, sown fresh as 

 they are, when they have just reached 

 maturity, will germinate sooner than old 

 ones, because the latter have to regain, 

 by a lengthy stay in the ground, the 

 moisture that has been lost by their long 

 drying. 



Seeds, according to their species, preserve 

 their faculty of germinating for a longer or 

 shorter time, but there is nothing to tell us 

 the causes which determine the duration of 

 this persistence in life. Neither the size nor 

 the nature of the envelope, nor the presence 

 or absence of a perisperm, seem to determine 

 the longevity. One seed will remain alive 

 for years, or even centuries, while another 

 will not come up after a few years, for no 

 reason that we can ascertain. The seed of 

 angelica will not come up unless it is sown 

 as soon as it is mature, while beans have been 

 known to germinate after being kept for 

 more than a hundred, and rye for more than 

 one hundred and forty years. When sheltered 



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