‘ 
The Gathering and Storing of Seeds. IOI 
Seeds necessarily gathered immature will often ripen suf- 
ficiently for germination if a considerable part of the plant 
is plucked and cured with them. 
164. Immature versus Ripe Seeds. 
grown lack a part of their normal food supply, and their 
embryo is probably imperfectly developed. If capable of 
germination, they rarely, if ever, produce vigorous plants. 
Seeds not fully 
As a rule, the most vigorous plants come from fully matured 
seeds. Immature seeds, persistently used, probably tend to 
reduced vigor, early maturity, dwarfness and shortened 
life. In some over-vigorous plants, as the tomato, slightly 
immature seed may tend to increased fruitfulness. 
Slightly immature seeds usually germinate sooner than 
fully matured ones. 
165. The Vitality of all Seeds is Limited by Age, 
but the duration of the vital period varies greatly in differ- 
ent species. Seeds of the chervil rarely germinate if much 
more than one year old, while those of the gourd family, and 
of the tomato and celery often germinate well when ten 
years old. Asa rule, oily seeds, as of Indian corn, rape 
and sunflower, are shorter lived than starchy seeds, as 
wheat and rice. The following table* gives the average 
period during which the seeds named are reliable for ger- 
mination, when properly cared for : 
Duration of Duration of 
Germinating Power. Germinatiog Power. 
Average. Extreme. Av. Ext?m. 
Years. Years. Yrs. Yrs. 
Artichoke .... - 6 10 Cauliflower ..... ‘ - 5 10 
Asparagus - 6 8 Celery... - 8 10 
Bean .......... . 6 10 Chervil .. 3 6 
Bean — Kidney.. . 3 8 Chervil, Sweet-scented | 1 
Bean — Soy ...... - 2 6  Chervil, Turnip-rooted - 1 1 
Borecole or Kale . 5 10 Corn Salad .... ... - 5 10 
Broccoli ..:. 5 10 Cress, American . . 3 f 
Cabbage . 5 10 Cress, Common Garden . 6 9 
Cardoon 7 9 Cress, Water.. ........... . 5 go 
Carrot... 5 10 Cucumber, Common .. «10 106 
* From ‘‘ The Vegetable Garden,” Vilmorin, Andrieux & Co., Paris. 
