Seeds for the Garden I41 
in seeds be killed? Why are seeds sometimes.treated with hot 
water or formaldehyde before planting? Whenisa seed “viable”? 
Name two methods of testing the viability of seeds. 
Things to Do and Observe 
1. To study the parts of flowers. Examine flowers of the different 
garden plants. Learn to recognize the parts. Which have sta- 
mens and pistils present inthe same flower? Which have them 
in different flowers? Do flowers having only stamens produce 
fruit ? 
2. To study pollination. Watch the insect visitors to flowers. 
What are they seeking? How do they cause pollination? Ob- 
serve how the pollen of corn is distributed. 
3. To observe the germination of pollen. The pollen of some 
plants will germinate on a drop of sugar solution. Add 1 heaping 
teaspoonful of cane sugar to 10 teaspoonfuls of water. When 
the sugar is all dissolved, place a drop of the solution on a clean 
glass slide. Scatter pollen from a freshly opened anther on 
the drop. To prevent drop from drying, lay slide across 
top of a small dish containing water and then invert and place a 
larger dish so that it incloses both slide and small dish. 
Pollen of the paper white narcissus, which may be grown during 
winter, and of the sweet pea or Easter lily, which may be had 
at florists’, germinate well in this solution. Pollen of the apple 
may be used in spring, and that of the tomato and beans during 
summer. 
The pollen of many plants germinates poorly if at all on sugar 
solutions unless agar is added to make a jelly.1 Place 4 teaspoon- 
ful of powdered agar (weighing about 1 gram) and 23 teaspoonfuls 
of table sugar (weighing about ro grams) in 20 teaspoonfuls of 
water (weighing about 100 grams). Heat to gentle boiling until 
agar and sugar are dissolved. When cool, the mixture is like 
jelly. To use, gently heat until mixture becomes liquid and then 
place a drop on a glass slide. The drop soon cools and becomes 
1 Agar-agar may be obtained from any of the many houses which 
deal in scientific apparatus and supplies; of these Eimer and Amend 
of New York City may be mentioned. 
