US 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Feb. 



faHjUke of seeds. 



Complaint is often made of the failure of seeds, 

 and dishonestly imputed to the grower or vender, 

 •where the unfortunate result is attributable solely 

 to the planter. 



The germination of a seed in the soil, is one of 

 the most beautiful and wonderful of all the ope- 

 rations of nature, and when contemplated with a 

 scientific eye, will be found to be the result of a 

 concurrence of causes, so intimately interinde- 

 pendent, and nicely balanced, that failure, even 

 where the vital principle is unimpaired and per- 

 fect, can scarcely excite surprise. As a result, it 

 may be considered as produced by the combined 

 agency of earth, air, moisture and heat, and in 

 order that the development may be successful, it 

 is indispensable that these elements be duly con- 

 bined and adjusted in accordance with the specific 

 habits and wants of different kinds of seeds. 



Hence it is that culturists frequently encounter 

 no small difficulty in causing some kinds to ger- 

 minate ; and hence, too, the well founded doubts 

 of the anxious husbandman or gardener respect- 

 ing certain crops, till the appearance of the youth- 

 ful plant allays his fears by the gratifying assur- 

 ance that all is well. We offer a brief explana- 

 tion of the causes occasioning the frequent loss 

 of crops, as is supposed, from the non-germina- 

 tion of the seed. In order to exonerate seeds- 

 men and producers from the unjust imputations 

 of those to whom want of skill and information in 

 sowing is apt to suggest the supposition that they 

 have been imposed on, we submit the following 

 remarks. 



In order that a seed may germinate healthily, 

 it must, in the first place, be exposed to the un- 

 restricted and free operations, conjointly exerted, 

 of the three elements, viz. : moisture, atmospheric 

 air and heat. It is also essential that light be ex- 

 cluded until such time as the nutritive matters 

 contained in the seed, shall have been exhausted, 

 or the root, by having obtained a permanent fix- 

 ture and position in the soil, is prepared to derive 

 its sustenance from that medium. 



In the first place, immediately upon being placed 

 in the soil and covered, the seed experiences a 

 modification of its physical properties ; its starch 

 is transformed into sugar, or pultaceous matter, 

 which is the appropriate nourishment of the nas- 

 cent plant. If at this stage of its development, 

 the surrounding soil should be suddenly deprived 

 of its moisture, the plant would inevitably be de- 

 stroyed. But with a full supply of moisture, the 

 contents of the seed will co.,tinue to swell, until, 

 by degrees, the formation of the future root being 

 completed, the point penetrates the integument, 

 or shell, enveloping the seed lobes, in a downward 

 direction, while about the same time the plumule, 



or that part which becomes the stem, is evolved, 

 and progressively makes its way upwards to the 

 air, which, with the elements of heat and mois- 

 ture, are no less essential to its existence, than to 

 the development or germination of the seed. 



When seeds are planted or sowed, they fre- 

 quently experience the incipient fermentation, or 

 normal change preparatory to germination, and 

 the earth not being sufficiently consolidated 

 around them, they perish from lack of moisture ; 

 or it may be from a too copious supply of mois- 

 ture, where the ground is humid and unduly re- 

 tentive around them. 



Seeds are sometimes buried too deep, and thus 

 perish from lack of warmth and air. When seeds 

 are of small size, great care should be exercised 

 in the preparation of the soil for their reception. 

 It should be very fine, in which state it will admit 

 of the degree of compression necessary to bring 

 it in contact with every part of the seed, and yet 

 not be sufficiently consolidated to impair its veg- 

 etative powers, even in case of drought. 



In putting in crops, the careful farmer will con- 

 sult both the state of the weather and the condi- 

 tion of the soil, and regulate his conduct accord- 

 ingly. If the surface be dry, and the indications 

 are of clear and dry weather, he will consider an 

 extra amount of covering necessary, for no seed 

 will germinate in a dry soil, and that which is 

 moist, and in a condition to retain an adequate 

 supply, exists, at such time only at a considerable 

 depth. But if the weather be cold and the soil 

 w^, he will see the necessity of depositing his 

 seed nearer the surface ; it will then be more di- 

 rectly exposed to the vivifying influences of the 

 sun, and be less liable to be smothered by excess 

 of moisture, when the soil is saturated with wet. 



Many seeds are so small and the pericarp en- 

 closing the seed lobes so excessively hard, ihat 

 they generally remain a long time in the soil be- 

 fore germination commences, unless extra care is 

 bestowed in sowing them. By compressing the 

 soil closely around them, this tenderness of devel- 

 opment is to a certain extent overcome. But it 

 is more judicious, before committing such seeds 

 to the soil, to prepare them by a temporary im- 

 mersion in some steep, which will soften the in- 

 tegument, and prepare them for a healthy, and 

 more rapid start. 



Cheap Cider Vinegar. — Take the water in 

 which dried apples are washed and soaked, and 

 after carefully straining, put in a vessel ; add a 

 pound of sugar, or its equivalent in molasses. 

 Put in a piece of brown paper and set where warm. 

 In a few weeks you will have good cider vinegar. 

 More sugar added, will improve it. The vinegar 

 will also be better, the more concentrated the ci- 

 der is. The strongest vinegar is made from boiled 

 cider. 



