Seed

SEED. The seed is the perfected fruit of the plant, capable of again reproducing itself through germinations and growth. They may be divided into six principal classes: 1. Those of the cereal grains, beans, peas, etc., contained within dry coverings, and which are prepared directly for use. 2. Those contained in fleshy envelopes, as fruits, pumpkins, squashes, etc. the envelopes being the edible part. 3. The seedr; of plants, the tubers, bulbs. leaves or foot stalks of which are eaten. 4. The seeds of plants used for flavoring. 5. The seeds of medicinal plants. 6. The seeds of plants cultivated for their foliage or flowers. In a more restricted sense the fruits of plants are not considered the seeds, the fruit being generally termed the edible por tion. In the present article it will only he neces sary to notice the seed in its relation to the im provement of the species, other questions having been discussed in the articles acclimation, foods, germination, etc., which see. The vitality of seeds is determined by the length of time required to disorganize them as kept under ordinary cir cumstances, with care as to dryness, and partial exemption from the effects of the oxygen of the air; seeds remain vital for twice or three times the number of years as ordinarily given in the table. Kept entirely from contact with air and moisture, there is practically fio limit to the length of time they may be kept intact. As to the amount of cold which the seeds of plants will withstand without impairing their vitality, if dry, there is practically no limit. Prof. Wartman, of Geneva, Switzerland, more than twenty years ago, placed nine varieties of seed, some of them tropical, in hermetically sealed tubes, and submitted them to freezing as severe as science can produce. Some remained fifteen days in a mixture of salt and snow, others were plunged into a bath of liquid sulphuric acid, rendered as cold as possible by artificial means. They were then taken out and sown in pots in the open air and all germinated. Those which had been submitted to the severest cold germinated as kindly and made as good and healthy plants as those not submitted to this extreme test. Nevertheless, seeds as usually kept, like plants, have a limit beyond which they will not stand cold, or a degree of cold at which their cells are ruptured, provided always, however, they contain a sufficient amount of moisture for this purpose. In relation to the germination of seeds and tests of their quality, M. Charles Appelius, of Erfurt, in a memoir furnished the Imperial Society of Horticulture, France, says: The value of a sample of seeds is often deter mined solely by their specific weight and density. This method is no 'doubt good, hut not infallible; besides, the weight of the same kind of seed may vary from year to year, according to the manner in which it is grown. It may even vary upon the same plant ; it does so particularly in an ear of maize, the grains situated in the center of the ear of that plant having a greater specific gravity than those above or below. Now, the latest experiments of Dr. Hellriegel go to prove, first, that in accordance with the general opinion of cultivators the best formed seeds have the greatest specific gravity; and, in the second place, that the heaviest seeds produce the strongest plants. Every one knows that in order to ascertain the specific gravity of seeds quickly and easily it is the custom to throw them into water, and to col lect as the best those which, from their greater weight, fall to the bottom, whilst those which float are rejected as bad. However, too much confidence must not he placed in this method of proving seed by water. It may frequently mis lead, particularly in the case of seeds in which the specific gravity differs little from that of the fluid. For example, those of cucurbitaceous plants, which are produced during cold seasons, float upon the water, and nevertheless germinate well. It is known, too, says M. Appelius, that the seeds of these plants bear more female flowers than younger plants; that is to say, the plants are more prolific than those raised from seeds gathered in a cold season and planted shortly after they have ripened. 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. We conclude, therefore, in this case, as in many others, that trial by water is not a sure test. In general the heaviest seeds are those which contain the most starch, such as those of cereals and leguminous plants, etc. The specific gravity of oily seed is often nearly the same as that of water, although in some cases they are heavier; as, for example, those of cab bages. The lightest seeds are those of umbellif orous plants, such as carrots, parsnips, chervil, aniseseed, etc., and of composites, such as let tuces, scorzoneras, etc. In the first of these fami lies the lightness of the seeds arise from the pres once of an oil in the case which encloses the seed, and of air in the last. With a few excep tions all shining, seeds are heavier than water. Many cultivatofs, before buying seeds, test them by making them germinate upon damp blotting paper, at a temperature of 59° to 75°. ' This pro cess is convenient and tolerably sure for the kinds which are quickly raised, such as clover, peas and cereals, but does not answer for those which require a long time to germinate. For these the best practical plan is to grow a sample in a pot. But even this will not always give a strictly correct indication of the germinating power of seeds, since the result depends, all other circumstances being equal, upon the care taken in sowing, the temperature of the air, the depth at which seed is sown and the time of the year, etc. Thus the pips of apples and pears almost always germinate badly and in very small quan tities when trials are made of them in pots soon after they are ripe, whilst they answer perfectly if they are sown at the end of October nr in March in beds in the open air. For this reason it often happens that a sample is pronounced bad when in reality it is excellent. This is the case with the generality of woody plants, the seed of which come up the first year, conifers excepted. The soil which is used to cover the trial seedlings also considerably affect the result. If, for exam ple, the ryegrass seed (Lolium perenne) is sown in soil which retains moisture with average ten acity, and is buried one inch below the surface, seven-eighths of it grow in twelve days; if two inches, seven eighths also grow, but in if three inches, six-eighths in twenty days; if four inches, four-eighths germinate in twenty one days; at five inches, three-eighths in twenty two days; and at six inches, the proportion of the seeds which germinate is reduced to one eighth in twenty-three days. On the other hand, when ryegrass is sown and simply harrowed in, it germinates, almost without exception, in five days. M. Appelius' memoir contains, in the form of a table, the -length of time necessary to germinate the seeds of many plants at a temper ature of 54° to 55° in the sun, and 54° to 64° in the open air. This table shows plainly, says the German author, that those seeds which are lighter than water require a longer time to germinate than those which are heavier. A tolerably large

number of seeds come up slowly, and even with difficulty; they are generally those which have a thick, tough skin. In this case it is a good plan to soak the sample in hot water, from 167° to 185°, allowing it to cool naturally to 60° for four and twenty hours, and not to sow it until after it has been prepared ih this manner. Their ger mination may be assisted by notching, a more delicate operation than the first, because care must be taken not to injure the embryo. Unless one or the other of these methods is adopted, it will generally be one or two years before such seeds come up. The seeds of palm trees usually grow very well placed on damp sawdust, the germinating end downwards, and kept in a damp, warm atmosphere. The spores of ferns and the seeds of orchids, which are very minute, come up rapidly, if they are scattered on pieces of peat placed in a pan with water. For hardy plants Di. Appelius recommends, as by far the best plan, to sow them in lines. In his opinion, the reason of the frequent failure of seeds in gardens is that they are sown in earth too dry and buried too deep. Besides, if care is not taken to press the earth lightly together before sowing the seed, heavy rains falling directly after will force some of the seed deeper in, and so occasion greater inequality in germination. For perfectly hardy annuals, the best plan is to sow them late in the autumn, or, at least, very early in the spring; if the seeds are not in the ground before April you run the risk of seeing them flower very late and very badly. Seedlings which are obliged to be raised in hotbeds or under frames, cause much disappointment, and consequently complaint of the quality of the samples. M. Appelius does not hesitate to say, in that case, the want of success arises more often from bad management than from the badness of the seeds. In his opinion it is a mistake to sow ma.iy kinds of flowers in high bottom-heat, such as stocks, asters, phlox, heartsease, petunias, etc., which do far better in a very gentle hot-bed, and produce stronger plants, less likely to die off. On the other hand, it must not be forgotten that the dung with which a hot-bed is made, after it has given off its first heat, absorbs the moisture from the earth with which it is covered; that the surface of this earth under the frame generally slopes toward the south, and the greater part of the shower from the watering runs down this incline, the end of which is that the earth in which the seeds are embedded is often too dry, or, at least, it is so with that next to the back of the hot-bed. In this case, says M. Appelius, if you those seeds which germinate slowly and require con stant damp, such as phlox and heartsease, at the bottom or in the front of the bed, and those which grow more readily at the top or back, the result will be good; but it will be quite the con trary if the reverse is done. Finally, the success of seedlings raised under frames depends princi pally upon the regulation of mbisture. Another precaution, and one of the utmost importance in this case, is not to sow thick; a plant raised among a lot of crowded seedlings is very apt to die before it has made its fourth leaf. This sel dom happens if, on the contrary, seeds are sown thin, and a little powdered charcoal mixed with the earth. Wheat, and the other cereal grains, if not injured by insects, or damp, retain their vitality perfectly three or four years, but seeds of the previous year's growth are best. Grass seeds should not be depended on for more than one year. The oily seeds unless kept quite dry and from contact with air soon deteriorate. The seeds of all the cucumber family, including melons, squashes, etc., are better after four years old. As to the time that seeds may ordinarily pe kept intact, the following table of the seeds of vegetables and herbs will show: In sowing seeds, a good rule for those not prac tically acquainted with the proper depth at which to sow seeds is to cover them four times their diameter. Very minute seeds should be simply pressed into the ground and kept moist until they sprout. Wheat, for instance, germi nates best at a depth of three-quarters to one inch in depth. Below the depth of two inches it must partially exhaust itself in reaching the sur face, and in throwing out its superficial roots. At the depth of six inches, it reaches the surface nearly or quite exhausted, if it indeed do not perish in the attempt. In light soils, how ever, seeds may be sown one-quarter deeper than in heavy, compact soils. The following tables of the time of sowing, the average seed or pounds sown per acre, the time of harvest and the best soil, gathered from a variety of sources will be found valuable. The table of averages of seeding and product in the different States, with the time of planting and harvesting, and prices of the various articles, is'compiled from a number of returns in the different States; and in some instances, perhaps, eight or ten—in others, not more than four to six; and in one or two instances, perhaps, not more than two. The extremes are given, and the replies ranged from these; but in many instances there was almost an entire similarity in the judgments formed in the case of the prominent crops. In respect to some of the crops, also, regard must be paid to the different varieties cultivated. In the potato crop, both the common and sweet potato are embraced in the replies from certain States; and this fact deserves recollection when the disparity of seeding is mentioned. For a few of the States, as no returns were received there are no records made. The other tables, relating to estimates of the proportions of cultivated land to uncultivated, of corn stalk and straw fodder to the grain, the rotation of crops, and the cost of raising different crops, with amount of con sumption, and the prices of various agricultural products and wages of labor, can of course be viewed only as the results of the conclusion of a. few in each section of the country. Yet many of those -who have furnished this information are among the prominent successful agriculturists, in their respective districts; or practical farmers, who show that, though the subject is new to them, they duly appreciate its importance, and have gladly lent their aid to promote the object. The replies, generally, relate to a county or dis trict, though in a few instances, perhaps, they have been confined to a single town. The num ber of the returns were not sufficient to allow a condensation in a tabular statement, in respect to some of these subjects; and they have, there fore, simply been drawn out and entered in the order of the States. It is not claimed that the quantities of seed stated, or, the land adapted to the cultivation of the crops are a sure guide except in a general sense. Yet approximately they are correct. Allowance must be made for climate. For instance, a crop doing well in a cool and rather stiff soil in the South might require a warm and rather light soil in the North, and vice versa. So in the quantity of seed different soils and localities require differ ent quantities of seed. Though defective in many respects, yet at the same time they are of value, in a general sense, especially in relation to costs, quantities sown and time of harvesting.