Testing for Foreign Bodies 399 



greatest risk in the buying of seeds is the chance that 

 they may not be true to name or that^, if true to name, the 

 particular strain may not be the best. There are differ- 

 ences within varieties which may make all the difference 

 between profit and loss. If the grower wants to be very 

 sure of his product^ it is not enough that he buys sqeds of 

 Early Snowball cauliflower : he should know what kind of 

 Snowball he is buying. There is no way of testing the 

 seed except to raise the crop. One must rely on his seeds- 

 man. This he can do with safety if he chooses a reliable 

 seedsman and if he is willing to pay a good price for his 

 seeds. The cheapest seeds may be the dearest. 



Testing for viability. 



The testing of seeds for viability, or for the ability to 

 grow, is preferably made in the soil under uniform condi- 

 tions, for then they can be carried completely through the ' 

 process of germination rather than merely through the 

 sprouting stage. The best place for the test is in a green- 

 house, but the living-room of a dwelling house may answer 

 very well. Use a " flat " (Fig- 230) or other shallow box 

 or earthenware pan. As a rule, the best results are to be 

 obtained by planting in the soil in conditions as nearly as 

 possible approaching the normal requirements of the par- 

 ticular species or variety. A light loose loam with a 

 good mixture of sand is the best soil for this purpose. A 

 good method is to place two or three inches of loam in a 

 flat, wetting thoroughly without puddling it; then cover 

 the soil with an inch or less of sterilized (baked) sand, in 

 which to sow the seeds. The loam keeps the sand supplied 

 with moisture. 



The inexperienced operator usually applies too much 



