The Portland daily press., 1878-06-25
AGRICULTURAL.
Ger,ninuaatfon of See DIS.

There are few common principles con-
nected with the termination OF seeds, which
;sie familiar to many readers of the Country
I Gentleman, 70 but which are nevertheless
I, worthy Of being placed on record, and which
may be Interesting and instructive to those
who have not given special attention to the
subject.
The three great leading requisites for germ
'inatlon are audrmth, moisture, and air, but
not light. Seeds deprived of these requisites
will remain dormant IF The plan arg very
hardy, such as the chickweed, and til rye
and wheat plant, they will start at few de-
grees above the freezing point. Others less
hardy, as Indian corn and beans, mnst have
higher temperature, and if the soil is too
cold, they will rot instead of growing. Hot
house plants require still greater heat,
many of which will not terminate below
eighty or ninety degrees of Fahrenheit.
Moisture is very essential, as every farmer
knows who has sown wheat or grass seed in
time of severe drouth. Flower seeds sown
in dry garden bed, vegetate rapidly if the
sowing is followed by warm shower, which
furnishes the two elements for success,
warmth and moisture, Many seeds are de-
priyed of this essential requisite when they
are allowed to become too dry by long ex-
posure to the air. Such seeds as chestnuts,
horsechestnuts, beechnuts, walnuts and hick-
ory nuts, lose their power of terminating
when the she'll which encases them becomes
hard and dry, and impervious to moisture.
Chestnuts lose their terminating power in
few weeks, if not kept in damp moss, soil or
sawdust. from the time they drop from the
tree. Walnuts remain good for longer
time. but ultimately fail. Nurserymen are
familiar with the fact that cherry stones
planted for raising seedlings or stocks, are
worthless If exposed to drying air for sew
eral weeks.
Seeds must have air, or they will not grow.
Buried deep In the soil, they remain dormant
for long time, although kept at nearly uni
form temperature with the soil, to retain
their natural moisture: Nurserymen some
times keep peach stones in a sound and DOR
mant condition, buried two feet or more in
compact earth. Many of the most trouble
some annual weeds make their appearance in
ground supposed to be clean. The careless
farmer has allowed weeds to ripen seeds by
the ten thousand in previous years, and
turned them in deep by blowing. There
they have remained dormant till another
blowing has brought them to the surface,
where they soon appear by myriads to the
surprise of the owner, who, if he is ignorant
Of the nature of vegetable growth. ascribes
their appearance to spontaneous vegetation,
or says, as we recently heard farmer who
never reads agricultural papers assert, that
'the soil breeds them.'
Large seeds, like those of peas, corn, &C.,
will find their way to the surface if buried
several inches below ground, although they
grow more freely at less depth. Small seeds
must be much nearer the surface. The
seeds of most of our worst annual weeds,
such as pig-weed, green amaranth, fox-tail,
rag weed and mustard, are quite small, and
will not grow if buried IN compact soil over
an inch in depth. This is the reason that
when the ground once becomes infested, it
takes so long a time to eradicate them. The
blowing and narrowing must be repeated
many times, until every part of the soil, down
as far as the plow reaches, is successfully ex-
posed to the action of the air. In this way
crop after crop of weeds is destroyed, until
the soil is purged OF them. 1t is much easier
and less expensive to prevent their growth,
and never to allow them to drop ripe seeds.
1t is at least ten times easier to kill weeds
when they are only brittle white sprouts
from the seed, and are yet below the surface,
than after they have grown several inches
high; and 1t is ten times easier TO kill them
under six inches, than when they are hard
and stiff at full height. Hence the rapidly
extending practice by good cultivators, of
destroying all weeds before they appear, by
frequent stirring of the surface, performed by
means OF steel rake if done by hand in the
garden bed, or by means of the horse cultiva-
tor or smoothing harrow in the broad field.
Garden seeds often fail 70 terminate be-
cause they are buried too deep. Some years
age neignbor planted his beet seed, taking
great pains, and burying them three inches.
They could not grow, and the scotsman was
denounced as dishonest. A part remaining,
were afterwards planted an inch deep, and
they came up in profusion. The old rule, to
cover seeds a. depth not exceeding five
times their diameter, will apply, with some
variation to nearly all, and if generally OBJ
served, would often prevent failure.-Coun-
try Gentleman.