THE SEED, GERMINATION AND THE PLANTLET 23 



before or after maturity. Defects of these kinds are not 

 always visible. 



38. Seed testing. Seeds should therefore be tested 

 before planting to learn whether they will germinate. 

 It is unnecessary to plant seeds in soil to test them, since 

 the seed-tester shown in Fig. 6 is much more convenient. 

 This useful device consists of two circular pieces of clean, 

 moderately thick cloth of rather loose texture, a table plate 

 that is not warped and a pane of glass large enough to 



FIG. 6. A simple seed-tester, adapted to farmers ' and gardeners ' use. 



cover the plate. The cloths are dipped in water, and 

 squeezed a few times while under the water to press out 

 the air. They are then wrung out until moderately wet, 

 and spread over the bottom of the plate as shown, and the 

 seeds to be tested are placed between them. It is well to 

 use a hundred or more seeds of each sample, as a larger 

 number \yill show the percentage of viability more ac- 

 curately than a smaller one, and the lot should always be 

 well mixed before taking the sample. The plate should 

 be kept covered with the glass to prevent evaporation 

 from the cloths, and it may be placed in any room of com- 



