FEOWEES, FEXriTS AND SEEDS. 83 



Com will keep sound on the cob much longer than if 

 shelled when first gathered, and the same is true of the 

 Millets, Sorghums, and even of the smaller grasses, if 

 they are stored in a dry, cool place. Seeds of some of the 

 Leguminosse will remain sound for many years if kept 

 enclosed and sealed up in the pods, and it is well known 

 to seed-growers that the seed of the common Onion will 

 retain its Titality much longer in the heads than if 

 threshed out as soon as ripe. For all kinds of seeds 

 which will admit of any diying, like those of our com- 

 mon vegetables and cereals, there is probably no better 

 method of preservation than to store in boxes or bins, 

 and small lots in cloth or paper bags, and place them in a 

 dry, cool room. 



Seeds with hard shells, like the nuts, which require 

 softening or opening of the pores of the shell to admit 

 moisture to the kernel, should be placed in a position 

 where these essential conditions will be assured. In cold 

 climates, frost and moisture will expand the shell, and in 

 warm ones heat and moisture perform the same service. 

 But whether the seeds are to be kept dry or moist, in a 

 high or low temperature, these conditions should be as 

 uniform as possible, extremes of every nature being 

 more or less injurious, even if they do not entirely destroy 

 vitality. 



GERMiifATiON" OF Seeds. — Heat, moisture and air 

 are the principal requisites for the germination of seeds. 

 Light is not essential, and on some kinds of seeds it ap- 

 pears to be detrimental, retarding germination, presum- 

 ably from its known action in the decomposition of 

 carbonic acid. The temperature required is exceedingly 

 variable, for with the seeds of some tropical plants a 

 hundred or more degrees Fahrenheit are necessary to 

 cause germination, while there are those, natives of cool 

 climates, that will sprout at a temperature of thirty-four 

 or five, or two or three degrees above the freezing point. 



