Germination 



hard shells at their leisure and germinate as 

 slowly as their nature requires. 



As soon as the kernels are partly open and 

 show the radicle, it is time to proceed to the 

 final sowing, and the seeds that have begun 

 to germinate are placed in the ground, 

 separately, in the open air, in the place that 

 the young plant is to occupy. 



There is another advantage in stratification. 

 Fruit trees and others produce a vigorous 

 tap-root, which enters the ground vertically 

 to a considerable depth, and presents a 

 difficulty in transplanting. It would be an 

 advantage to change this into a shallow root, 

 branching horizontally. When considering 

 the root we saw how the nurseryman obtains 

 the result. With the edge of his spade he 

 cuts the tap-roots of his young plants clean 

 off. In stratification the process is much 

 simpler and more likely to succeed. Before 

 placing the seed in the ground the extremity 

 of the tender radicle is nipped off with the 

 nail. This is enough ; for, deprived of its 

 extremity, the young root will branch out 

 horizontally instead of descending in a vertical 

 direction. 



249 



