The Constitutional. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1860-1861, 1860-08-13
AGRICULTURAL.
termination Of Seed.

/ the failure of seeds To grow anu mum "'''"
then thrown upon the scotsman from whom
e seeds were purchased. This is often unlusiiy
pne although itimust bc acknowledged that IN
anv cases the fault lies with them in not using |
Efficient discrimination in selecting the seeds. !
w. find in the Gar,lncr's Chronicle Translation
an article published in the Journal de S"c'te
npcrial d'lIorticulturc. written by NJ. Charles
ppclions. an extensive scotsman at Erfuri,
hch shows how far The tests that are usually
pped to as certain the vitality Of seeds can he
pended upon. lie tells us the first requisite to
access in growing plants is to use seeds capable
terminating. We quote:
"Now tn goodness Of 4 sample can only be
roycd by The number of seeds which, out of a
iven quantity, grow and become plants Yet
bo often It's vitality is determined by It's Specific
geigh; or density of the seeds. This method Is
% doubt good but not infalliblr; besides the
Weight of the same kind Of seed may vary from
ear to year, according to the manner in which 1t
grown; it may even vary upon the SAM pant
a does So particularly in an ear Of corn, tie grams
the center Of that plant having agrcater specific
,ravity than those above or below"
Experiments tried by Dr. Hellriegcl have prov
d that the best formed seeds have the greatest
peciic gravity, and that the heaviest seeds of any
particular plants produce the strongest plants.
EVERY one knows that in order to ascertain
Bic specific gravity of seeds quickly and easily, 1t
the custom to throw them into water and to
i Al. IL. tbpir
weight fall 10 the bottom, while those which floT
fare rejected as bad. However, too much CONN
lence must not be placed in this method OF prov
ing seed by water 1t may frequently miSeac
particularly in the case of seeds in which the spe-
sific gravity differs but little from that of the
+ fluid For example, those of CucurbitaccouS
plants which are produced during cold
lseasons, float upon the water, and neverthc-
fless terminate very web. 1t is known, too, says
| NJ Appeius, that the seeds of those plants which
have been kept few years produce plants bear
F;ng more female flowers than younger plants that
is to say, the plants more prolific than those
raised from seeds gathered in cold season and
planted shortly after they are ripcncd Good
seeds of the melon and gourd lose weight as they
grow old at first they will sink in water, and by
the sixth. year half Of them will float, without
having become bad"
From this il will be seen that the trial by wa
Ftcr is not TO be depended on. j; answers very
well with those scrds which contain a large pro
portion of starch, such as the Cereals and Lcgu
ninous plants, but not with those which contain
- 1 \
water in specie gravity, such as carrots, parsnps
lettuce etc:
Nj. Appclius also gives a table containing thu
length of time necessary for the seeds of many
plants to terminate at temperature of 90 to Ga
in the open air, from which we selected the follow
ing as being the most important, figure after eacl
name indicating the number of days the seed take
TO grow. Garden crcss 2 cabbage, lettuce, buck
wheat, 4 pea, ryc-grass, melon ); rye, barley
oa,s, maize, Z; wheat, kidney-bcaEsS; Sugar-bcet
tobacco, 10; clover onion, - parsnep, parsley
81 potato 81 This table indicates that the light
est seeds require the longest time to esTminate.
| "a tolerable number of seeds come up slowl
and even with difficulty; they are generally thos
which have a thick, tough skin. In this case
is good pl;n TO soak tn sample in hot watc
from l67 to lolc for .ou!-and-;wcnty hours, an
not to sow in until after it has been prepared il
this manner.
"The spores Of ferns and the seeds of orchida
which are very minute, come up really, if the
are scattered ON pieces ofprat placed in pan
water In his opinion the frequent failure {
seeds in gardens is that they are sown in cart
which is too dry, and buried too deep; and h
recommends that seeds of perfectly hardy annual
be sown late in autumn or very early in SpIing