The First Book of Farming

e

CESSARY FOR S

? To answer these questions, perform a few experiments with seeds, and thus find out what conditions are necessary for seeds to sprout, or germinate. For these experiments you will need a few teacups, glass tumblers or tin cans, such as tomato cans or baking-powd

s and the other two hours. Now take these seeds from the water and dry the surplus water from them by gently patting or rubbing a few at a time in the folds of a piece of cloth, taking care not to break the skin or outer coating of the seed. Place them in dry bottles, putting in enough to cover the bottoms of the bottles about three seeds dee

6), while most, if not all, of those that soaked only two hours will not sprout. Why is this? It is be

l not sprout until they receive enough m

o prepare the soil for them and so plant them that t

this bottle A. Fill another bottle two-thirds full of them and mark the bottle B (Fig. 37). Cork the bottles and let them stand for several days. Also let some seeds remain soaking in the water. The few

estion try the fo

is no fresh air in the bottle to keep the match burning. Test bottle A in the same way. What has become of the fresh air that was in the bottles when the seeds were put in them? The seeds have taken something from it and have left bad air in its place; t

G.

A were soaked 2 hours, those in bottle B were soaked 24 hours. Th

G.

e put into dry bottles Bottle A contained sufficient air to start the few seeds. Bottle B had not enough.

G.

clay in tumbler A could not get sufficent air for sprouting. The mo

essing the kernels down one-half or three-quarters of an inch below the surface; cover the seeds and carefully smooth the surface. In other tumblers plant peas, beans, and other seeds. Cover the tumblers with saucers, or pieces of glass or board to keep the soil from drying. Watch them for several days. If the

and so plant the seeds that they will get enough fresh air to enable

and keep the other in a warm place in the house. The seeds kept in the house will sprout quickly but t

place one of the tumb

plant corn

ant melons

nt cotton i

es according to the temperatures at which they will g

n average temperature of forty-five degrees in the shad

Beet

arrot

abbag

auliflo

er Endiv

Clover K

Lettuc

soon as the ground can be prepared, and some of th

rout at an average temperature of sixty degree

Soy Be

Pole Bea

ing Bean

Melon

nt Okra

hat conditions are necessary for seeds to

moisture to keep the

ence of

e of more o

lant the seeds that they will be able to obtain sufficient moisture, heat, and air for sprouting. The moisture must be film wat

TES

e seeds do not sprout well and the farmer accuses the seedsman of selling him poor seed, but does not think that he himself may be the cause of the failure by not putting the seeds under the proper conditions fo

old the other end of the cloth over them. On a slip of paper mark the number of seeds and date, and place on the edge of the plate. Now cover the whole with another plate, or with a pane of glass to keep from drying. Set the plate of seeds in a warm room and examine occasionally f

e cloth first and place

hould be slightly greased to prevent the plaster sticking to them. When the cast has hardened it should be turned out of the mould and set in a large dish or pan. One hundred small seeds are then counted out and put into one of

y plant in it fifty or one hundred seeds of each kind to be tested. Then by c

pt at a temperature of about seventy d

SEEDS

soak. After these have soaked a few hours, examine them to find out how the seed is constructed. Note first the general shape of the seeds and the scar (Fig. 41

(Fig. 41-5). Between them near one end or one side will be found a pair of very small white leaves and a little round pointed projection. The part bearing the tiny leaves was formerly, and is sometimes now, called the plumule, bu

rnel through the centre of the oval depression and examine the cut surface. A more or less triangular-shaped body will be found on the concave side of the kernel (see Figs. 41-2 and 41-3). This is the one coty

kernel. This is the epicotyl, and another growing tip pointed toward the lower end of

l be just starting a growing point down into the soil. Some of

the bean

ked itself until it reached the surface of the soil and then pulled the cotyledons or

surface. The corn pushed a slender growing point to the surface leaving the cotyledo

YLEDONS AN

water and a piece of pasteboard large enough to cover the top. Cut a slit about an eighth of an inch wide from the margin to the centre of the pasteboard disk. Take one of the seedlings, insert it in the slit, with the kernel under the pasteboard so that it just touches the water. Take another seedling of the same size, carefully remove the kernel from it without injuring the root, and place this seedling in the slit beside the first one (Fig. 45). Watch the growth

G.

ting of two plates an

.-A SEE

vities in the surface

G.

The seed-coat a has been partly removed. 4. Bean showing scar or hilum at h. 5. The same, split open. 6. Bean with o

y M.E. Felt