SEEDS AND SEED SOWING. TRANSPLANTING 27 



drips from the flannel. Two warm, eight inch plates will 

 then be needed to contain the flannel. Lay the flannel in 

 one plate and on one end of it count out a number of seeds. 

 It is best to use the seeds in lots of from ten to one hundred; 

 one hundred ])eing the best number to use as a fairer test 

 can be had from this number of seeds than from any smaller 

 nmnber. After the seeds have been counted and laid on one 

 end of the flannel, fold the other end of the flannel over the 

 seeds so that they are all covered. The second plate should 

 then be placed over the first plate containing the flannel and 

 seeds, with the bottom of the plate upwards, and the whole 

 set aside in a place where the temperature can be kept at 

 about 70°. The seeds should be examined every day that 

 the flannel may be kept moist by additions of water, and 

 all germinated seeds counted and thrown out. The number 

 of seeds remaining after all the germinated seeds have been 

 thrown out will determine the percentage of germination 

 for the lot tested. Thus, if we have one hundred seeds 

 and twenty remain after the test, we know that eighty per 

 cent of the seeds are viable and can reasonably be depended 

 upon to produce plants. 



36. The Seed Bed. The seed bed must be carefully 

 and thoroughly prepared; lumps and coarse material must 

 be raked out, leaving the surface in a fine, smooth condition. 

 The seed bed should have a depth of at least four to six 

 inches of good loam and should be thoroughly pulverized 

 clear to the bottom. The lighter soils furnish the best con- 

 ditions for making the seed bed and are more easily gotten 

 into proper condition than are the heavier soils. 



After having thoroughly prepared the seed bed, the con- 

 ditions necessary for the germination of the planted seeds 

 are principally heat and moisture. All soil contains some air, 

 at least a sufficient amount will ordinarily surround a seed 



