FEBRUARY: SECOND WEEK 37 



ready to react to the proper stimuli from the outside and to 

 become active again. Second, the usual processes of change 

 and decay have also been arrested, and the vegetable matter 

 forming the seed — which must feed and sustain the germ 

 until it develops sufficiently to absorb nutrition from ex- 

 terior sources— is preserved and kept in good condition. 



Certain conditions are necessary for the germination of 

 seeds — heat, moisture and light, the latter not being 

 necessary, however, until the seed has sprouted and shows 

 above ground. The theory that seeds will sprout better 

 in a dark place is probably based solely upon the fact that 

 an even condition of the moisture in the soil is more likely 

 to be maintained in such a place than in the sun. The gar- 

 dener's problem is not only to give these several conditions 

 but also to supply them in the proper degree for the par- 

 ticular kind of seed he wants to grow. 



Getting a Good Stand: The Things Not to Do 



The seeds of most of the hardy vegetables are quite cold- 

 blooded — that is, they will start in a temperature in which 

 a more tropical thing will either lie dormant or rot. Rad- 

 ishes, celery or parsley, for instance, will sprout vigorously 

 where tomatoes or eggplants will probably fail to come up 

 at all. Lima beans will rot to the last seed after a rain that 

 will make other seeds sprout quickly. Still other seeds 

 have such hard casings or shells that the seed sprouts, 

 even when heat and moisture are supplied, carmot break 

 through. From this cause cannas, moonflowers and sweet 

 peas sometimes fail to germinate. If the hard outer shell is 

 carefully cut through with a knife or file before planting, 

 this difficulty can be overcome. 



As a usual thing seedsmen are careful to send out only 

 seeds that show a fair percentage of germination. If the , 

 seeds fail to come up or come up poorly the seedsman is 

 blamed, and next year's order probably goes somewhere 

 else. But here are some of the things that cause failure 

 even when good seeds are used: 



