The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-03-08
Test the Seed.

All kinds OF seed which IS to be SOW
in large quantities should be tested be-
fore using it. This rule should not on
ly be observed with seeds purchased
but with those saved by the gardener
and farmer tOr his own use. Almost
every year we hear of failures to secure
a good stand of corn and O her grain
on account of poor seed, which might
have been avoided if the seed had been
tested before planting and sowing.
Seed corn is more likely to be injured
during winter than almost any other
kind OF grain because it is usually left
on the cob, and if exposed to moisture
the cob absOrbs it, the grain attached
sWeils, and even ma es an e9ort to
grow; it then shrinks again as the at
mOsphere becomes dry, without in the
least changing the outward appearance
of the grain, while the vitality may be
greatly weakened if not entirely des-
troyed. Seed-corn, for this reason,
should always be stored in a very dry,
cool place, and it is a good plan to hang
it up in the crib or some dry building
during the winter months. But if care
fully spread out to dry when first gath
cred in the fall, it may be preserved in
good condition in open, well-ventilated
bins or barrels.
However careful Y it may have cen
kept, or sound it may appear in spring,
it is a good plan to shell small lot and
test it before planting time arrives.
Fifty or a hundred kernels of average
quality should be taken and planted in
box of good soil or pure sand, and
then set in a warm position in the
house, where, if good, the sprouts will
soon appear above ground. Count the
! number in order to know the proper
IF NJ try
other kind of seed in the same box.
| If every farmer would test his seed corn
in this way, we would then know
whether to lay the blame of fai ure on
the seed or to unfavorable weather or
| errors in planting.
All seeds purchased should be tested
in like manner, because no one would
desire to incur the expense of fitting
the soil for any kind of rop and then
use seed that will not grow. Most
kinds of small seeds, such as onions,
beets, carrots. and even wheat and
! oats, may be tested by sowing N sand,
| or even on sheets of cotton placed in a
| shallow dish and kept moist and warm.
| We prefer sand to soil in testing seed,
| because it is not so likely to get hard on
! the surface after giving water from time
! to time as re .uired and as the OBJ ect is
not to raise the plants, but merely to
| test their vitality, rich soil is entirely
| unnecessary. Neither is light required;
/ consequently a dark room is as good
/ for this purpose as any other. In testing
| tree seeds or those with a hard or tough
! horn-like covering, considerable heat is
| required to open the pores AM admit
moisture, which is es entail in sprout-
| ing all kinds of eds.
! Some kinds. such as the honey and
/ black locust, may be immersed in boil
/ ing water and allowed to remain in it
until cool; after which mix them with
/ sand and set them near fire, or whcTe
! the temperature viii ranre between
/ seventy and ninety degrees If the
! seeds sprOut nder these conditions, the
! entire Quantity to be sOwn may he sub
/ iectcd to the same kind Of treatment a
| few days before sowing in spring. 1t is
/ well not to leave them in the sprOuting
! boxes too long, or some of the sprouts
will be broken off in handling and sow
1 ing. 1t often happens t at locust, Usage
! orange, and other kinds of tree seeds
! become so dry that the moisture Of the
/ ground in sprinL and its low tcmpcra-
/ ture are not sufficient to Insure germi-
! nation: but after they have been once
started as we have directed, growth
will proceed without cessation. In est
/ ing very minute seeds care should be
taken TO cover them properly, for il
they are buried deeply many kinds will
fail to show any signs Of life, either IN
doors or out If spread over n smooth
surface of sand, n sheet of paper over
them kept wet viii be sufficient.
Such experiments as we have de-
scribed may not only prove Of great
value in determining the quality OF
one 5 stock of seed, but most persons
may learn from them something more
than they ever knew before about the
growth of plants. They will see that
some k nds of seed rise out Of the soil
as the radic'e or root pushes down into
/ 1T, while others throw up stem-the
seed proper remaining at the depth at
which it was first placed. Beans and
peas show these two opposite character
istics In fact, those who have any
| taste or inclination to observe such
things can find much to amuse and in
struct them in testing the seeds to be
used in the garden on the farm. ~ T.
Sun