400 



Seeds and Seedage 



water. Gardeners are well aware that very conflicting re- 

 sults may be secured from the same lot of seed by different 

 degrees of watering. The same remark applies to varia- 

 tions in temperature. Celery, for example, gives very poor 

 tests in widely fluctuating temperatures ; it is also injured 

 by being kept at a uniformly high temperature, whereas 

 melons and beans give the best tests in a high temperature. 



The seeds should be sown carefully at uniform depths 

 and at equal distances apart. To gauge the depth, nail a 

 cleat of the required thickness on a thin block and press 

 this cleat or tongue into the soil to its full extent: the 

 furrow is then of uniform depth. The seedlings should be 

 allowed to remain until large enough to show whether they 

 are likely to make strong or weak plants. Not every seed 

 that germinates is worth the planting. 



If one desires to know what percentage of any sample 

 of seeds still retains life, he should resort to a sprouting 

 test. This test is made in an apparatus in which all agen- 

 cies are under perfect control, and the seeds are counted 

 and discarded as soon as they have sprouted. There are 

 various patterns of germinating apparatus. An incubator 

 may be made to answer the requirements. Samples of seeds 

 which give the highest sprouting tests are not necessarily 

 the most reliable, for it is probable that the percentage 

 of vegetation, or subsequent growth, does not alwa^'s bear 

 a direct ratio to percentage of latent vitality. 



Sprouting tests may be made in dinner-plates, on blot- 

 ting-paper. The paper is kept moist, the seeds are placed 

 on it, and another plate is inverted over it to hold the 

 moisture intact. 



