Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-06-13

measure, rests upon the seed grower.
Seeds. saved with the utmost care from
carefully selected stocks. may lose their
vitality il they are not properly pre-
served All seeds of vegetables or flow
ers should be kept perfectly dry. cool.
aad in an airy situation; they ought Ia
be carefully protected from dampncSs.
and should be kept in a'room that i not
alternately moist or dry. An even
temperature and humidity j. essential TO
the seeds vitality.
Carele>sncS> in planting i one of the
principal causes Of failure. The soil
should he carefully prepared before ihc
seeds arr sown; II should be worked
deep, ami made fine, and, when the seed
is sown. the soil should BE- firmly pressed
about them. This has been practiced by
the systematic hortiCulturists for Ccutur-
ie~. and for this purpose the garden or
farm-rollcr was employed, A. much In
break up the lumpy soil as for any other
object The spade was used for packing
the soil firmly about the seed. The mod
ern plan. the use of the feet in seed
sowing" is one of the most effective,
practical and convenient methods
aS the feet are always with the
gardener and ready for use when
required. fact that admits Of no excuse
if the work i neglected. The influences
that act upon the seed 10 cause growth
are heat, air, and moisture. and without
proportionata amount of each there can III
no plant life. Now. il follows that when
Il seed is put into the ground, and loosely
covered with light, dry soil, it does not
come in contact with sufficient
moisture to soften It's coating neither j.
there sufficient heat. because Of the too
great circulation of air around the seed.
TO produce the chemical changes upon
which vegetable growth depends When
we place 4 seed into the earth it com
mcnCcs growth in two opposite directions,
upward into the atmosphere, and down
ward into the earth. The first roct the
seed puts forth does not furnish the young
plant with food fo1 its development; it
simply holds the plant in place until the
true roots, by which the plant is fed, are
formed, after which it becomes q part Of
the plant itself. The cOtvlcdons, or
seed-leaves, contain the food of the in
FAINT plant until its true leaves and roots
are formed. If the soil is not firmly
pressed around the main root, these feed
ers will have nothing TO feed upon; they
must come in immediate contact with
moisture. or the warm, dry air will
destroy them, and the whole plant will
stand still until new roots are formed, or,
in the meantime, perish Herein lies the
benefit of firmly pressing the soil around
the seed when planting.
Deep planting is another frequent cause
of failure. Take, for instance, sweet corn.
and cover in planting from One-half
inch to five inches in depth. The former
will terminate, If the seed is good, with
out loss of five per cent, and the latter
will not grow five per cent, and the ex-
act ratio between the two will be kept
up. The cause for the difference is that
the conditions or growth are not con-
piled with-the deficit being heat, which,
at the season for corn planting, cannot
be furnished at so great a depth from
the surface. As rule, not more than
One-quarter of an inch of soil should be
put over the seed. Very fine seed should
only be covered from sight. Proper care
in seed-sowing, and the too common
practice Of burying seeds, is just the diff
ference between success and failure in
their termination and growth.
Mechanical assistance, or the manner
of placing the seeds in the earth, is Of
greater Importance than is generally sup
posed, particularly those Of the gourd
family, or any large and fiat seeds. 1t is
economy to plant all vinc-seeds edgcwise.
Lima beans should always be placed edge
wise, germ down. The same is true with
the seeds of the hybrid amaryllis. If sown
f1atwise, they will rarely make plant; if
sOwn edgewise, rarely one will fail, I'M
der the same conditions of soil and tenn
perature. Any careful experimental can
easily explain how one man could com
plain of the seed sOwn, while another
would kindly praise the scotsman for seed
from the same stock, and will become
convinced that, very often seeds not
growing is more due to poor sowing than
to poor seeds. -American Agrtculturlst-
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