The Chickasha Daily Express

Horticultural Notes.

The life-retaining property of seeds
is influenced to a very great extent
by the degrees of temperature and
moisture to which they are exposed.
Stored seeds should be guarded against
both heat and moisture previous to the
time of planting them; and the spring-
time is the season when they are most
likely to experience conditions that
excite germination. The seed that has
started to germinate and has been
checked is probably of less value than
the seed whose germination has been
held back till it is put into the warm
moist ground.
Strong seeds only should be planted
if large crops are to be expected, and
the vitality of the seeds may be as-
certained by testing them by any of
the ordinary methods. There are var-
ious methods for doing this. Some use
an incubator, as in that way the tem-
perature can be kept under perfect
control. The mere sprouting of seeds
does not indicate their ability to grow,
as some seeds that sprout are so weak
that they are about worthless. Then,
too, some seeds that will sprout in a
warm room will not do well out of
doors. For this reason it is desirable
to sprout seeds under varying condi-
tions.
Authorities on forestry say that sev-
ent-five years are required for the
oak to reach maturity; for the ash,
larch and elm, about the same length
of time; for the spruce and fir, about
eighty years. After this time their
growth remains stationary for some
years, and then decay begins. There
are, however, some exceptions to this,
for oaks are still living which are
known to be 1,000 years old.
In South America the Brazilian pea-
sant women often take their infant
down to the water and use the leaves
of the Victoria Regina water lily as
cradles. The leaves are often a yard
in diameter, circular, and with an inch
high border which stands up like the
rim of a tin tray. —Chicago Record.