INTRODUCTION. Xlll 



leaves has developed, and the soil pressed firmly 

 around the roots of the remaining plants. 



DEEP PLANTING. 



This is another frequent cause of the seeds' 

 failure to germinate, or to make rapid growth after 

 sprouting. The importance of more care in this 

 direction cannot be overestimated. Our observa- 

 tion and experiments made in planting various 

 seeds at different depths show some astonishing 

 results. Take, for instance, sweet corn, and, in 

 planting, cover from one-half inch to five inches 

 in depth. The former will germinate without a 

 loss of five per cent., while the latter will not 

 grow five per cent., and the exact ratio will be 

 kept up. The cause for the difference is, that the 

 conditions of growth are not complied with — the 

 deficit being heat, which, at the season of corn plant- 

 ing, does not exist at so great a depth from the sur- 

 face. Again, corn planted at a depth of three inches 

 will not make as rapid or healthy growth as when 

 covered only half an inch, and for this reason : Corn 

 makes two sets of roots, — surface and underground — 

 the one being quite as important as the other. The 

 surface roots form just above the first joint of the 

 plant, which is about an inch above the kernel. If 

 corn is planted three inches deep, as soon as it has 

 used up the food that is stored up in the kernel, 

 growth ceases until a new and unnatural joint is 

 formed at the surface, from which these aerial roots 

 proceed. In planting corn in mellow ground, the 

 hoe should never be used, the feet alone being the 

 best implements that can be employed for the purpose. 



