148 The Principles of Vegetable- Gardening 



depths and at equal distances apart. In order to 

 gauge the depth, nail a cleat of the required thick- 

 ness on a thin block (Fig. 35) and press this cleat or 



tongue into the soil to its full 

 extent : the furrow will then 

 be 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. The following figures show that even with 

 beans, which are strong- germinating seeds, a consider- 

 able percentage of the seedlings may be so weak as to 

 be valueless: 



Fig. 35. Planting stick for gauging 

 the depth of planting. 



Figures on eight samples of heans^ germinated in soil in a 

 greenhouse, in thirteen days after 'planting 



Number of 

 sample 



Seeds that 

 produced 

 strong 

 plants 



PER CENT 



Seeds that 

 sprouted, but 

 did not produce 

 strong plants 



PER CENT 



Total 

 percentage of 

 germination 



1 



84 



4 



88 



2 



92 



4 



96 



3 



84 







84 



4 



84 



4 



88 



5 



52 



16 



68 



6 



52 



4 



56 



7 



68 







68 



8 



76 



16 



92 



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 



