Seed bud

“ The male tree blossoms at the shoots; the female buds without blossoming, the bud being very similar to an ear of corn. In both trees the flesh of the fruit shows first, and after that the woody part inside of it, or, in other words, the seed: and that this is really the case, is proved by the fact, that we often find small fruit on the same shoot without any seed in it at all. This seed is of an oblong shape, and not rounded like the olive-stone. ”

“ The root and a little of the lower stalk is from a seed, and upon this has been grafted or spliced with soft bands and wax, a bud from some choice kind of peach or apple or plum, or whatever the tree is to be, and this new bud grows and forms the tree. Sometimes a bud of the choice kind is merely inserted beneath the bark of another tree and grows and forms a new limb. By and by, when it bears fruit, the fruit will be of the kind that was on the choice tree, but the seed, though it looks just the same, may be altogether different. ”

“ It is manifest, then, that the plant which springs from a bud is as really a new plant as that which springs from a seed; and it is equally true, that a seed may convey the weakness and diseases of its parent with as much facility as a bud or a graft does. ”

“ That from which a stem with its leaves is continued, or a new stem (i. e. branch) originated, is a Bud. The most conspicuous and familiar buds are those of most shrubs and trees, bearing buds formed in summer or autumn, to grow the following [Pg 13] spring. But every such point for new growth may equally bear the name. When there is such a bud between the cotyledons in the seed or seedling it is called the Plumule. This is conspicuous enough in a bean (Fig. 29.) , where the young leaf of the new growth looks like a little plume, whence the name, plumule. ”

“ Everything was prepared, and even formed, beforehand: the short joints of stem in the bud have only to lengthen, and to separate the leaves from each other so that they may unfold and grow. Only a small part of the vegetation of the season comes directly from the seed, and none of the earliest vernal vegetation. ”

“ Seeding upon the same soil and in the same bed in which the seed is sown is hardly the way to keep up a form induced by cultivation, as this is exactly what would be done by the plants in a state of wildness.
In selecting roots for seeding, care should be taken to choose good-shaped examples, in which a clean unbranched bulb, not too large, with a small tap-root and a small top, confined to a single central bud; a branched root and a many-headed top being true signs of degeneracy. And no less so is neckiness in swedes and mangels, as well as a coarse corrugated skin in roots of all kinds. ”

“ Moles must be caught, blight and other diseases treated and the weeds pulled, especially from among the younger plants. As soon as the plants are up in the spring the seed buds should be clipped from all the plants except those finest and healthiest plants you may save for your seed to maintain your garden. The clipping of the seed buds is very essential, because we want the very largest and best flavored root in the shortest time for the market. ”

“ In certain trees the bud first germinates within the seed, and, as it increases in size, the seeds split—all such seeds are, as it were, in two halves; again, all those of leguminous plants have plainly two lobes and are double—and then the root is immediately thrust out. But in cereals, the seeds being in one piece, this does not happen, but the root grows a little before [the shoot] .
‘Barley and wheat come up monophyllous, but peas, beans, and chick peas polyphyllous. All leguminous plants have a single woody root, from which grow slender side roots ... ”

“ Meadows and pastures, especially where the land is not fertile, abound in weeds that require two years or more to produce seeds, such as narrow-leaved dock, bitter dock, bull thistle, carrot, teasel, two kinds of mulleins, night-flowering catchfly, evening primrose, several kinds of fleabane, ox-eye daisy, orange hawkweed, two or three kinds of plantain, Canada thistle, hound's tongue, stick seed, sow thistle, horse nettle, buttercups, toad flax, silvery cinquefoil, and many more, not excluding some annuals, like crab-grass, tickle grass, pigeon grasses. ”

“ A new leaf is sent up every year from the tip end of the root-stock, and the old, dropping off, leaves a sear, which is the "seal." Buds formed on these underground stems are protected from too great changes of temperature by a few inches of soil. Those buds that lie on the surface must be protected by the dead leaves which fall in autumn. They, the buds, are the real "babes in the wood," you see.
Our baby bud, just like children, must have nourishment as well as protection in order to grow in spring. This is provided by the thick leaves that cover, or by the stem, or in some other way. ”

“ A hand lens costing from twenty cents to a dollar is almost indispensable in examining our seeds. The brief descriptions are necessarily made by using definite scientific terms, which are explained in a glossary at the close of the work. A few weeds are not illustrated, for the reason that the plants have ceased to produce seeds, such as the horse radish, and some of them are not conspicuously bad. Not far from half the illustrations are made from small seed-like fruits, likely to be mistaken for seeds, such as are produced by dandelions, burdocks, narrow-leaved dock, all grasses. ”

“ Definite annual Growth from winter buds is marked in most of the shoots from strong buds, such as those of the Horse-chestnut and Hickory (Fig. 72, 73) . Such a bud generally contains, already formed in miniature, all or a great part of the leaves and joints of stem it is to produce, makes its whole growth in length in the course of a few weeks, or sometimes even in a few days, and then forms and ripens its buds for the next year's similar growth. ”

“ Said one amateur gardener to me when I gave him this advice: "Why should one be so particular about the seed? It's the culture that you give the plant that counts. Plant any kind of seed that happens to be handiest and take good care of the plants that grow from it and you'll have good vegetables." To some extent what he said was true, but he had yet to learn that there is a vast difference between ordinary seed and seed that has bred into it by careful culture the superior qualities which characterize the choicest varieties of all our garden plants. ”

“ Prepare a bed, say four by six feet, or larger if you choose, and rake it off smoothly. The seeds are extremely minute. Take a pinch of them as if they were snuff, and then do by them what everybody ought to do by snuff,—sift them evenly all over the ground. Then just touch the ground with the tips of the rake-teeth, stirring it very lightly. Take a spade and spat the surface gently, so as to bring the soil home to the seed. Keep weeds away, and for the rest do nothing but enjoy the labor of your hands. It will come up of itself every year, and become a weed if you wish it to. ”

“ For instance, if you take a chestnut, it grows in a burr with sharp thorny points; others are folded as though rolled up very tightly in leaves, as you will find in the hazel nut or filbert. Some seeds grow in rows, like beans and peas in a pod. Some grow in a very soft bed, like cotton seeds. Some grow imbedded in a downy substance [180] which blows all around, carrying the seed with it, like the thistle, and the light fuzz of the dandelion. Sometimes the seed is buried in the inside of fruit, as in the case of apples, pears, peaches, plums, and various other kinds of fruit. ”

“ Gathering seeds can be a delightful pastime. The following are most beneficial: seed heads of seeding grasses, Plantain, Chickweed, Shepherd’s Purse, Dock Groundsel, Clover, Teazle, Queen Anne’s Lace, Charlock, Smartweed, dandelion and thistles, except Burdock. These seeds are particularly good at moulting and mating times and a few are always relished as a treat. ”

“ Each flower had two green sepals and five colored petals, also five stamens, so they knew it was an exogen, though it would have been harder to tell this from the thick, pulpy leaves and stem. The little seed-pod of each had a tiny cap which lifted off when the seeds were ripe, leaving a perfect cup, heaping full.
"You see, children," said the Chief Gardener, "weeds do not care to be either useful or ornamental. So they become rank and common, and lose their beautiful flowers. But somehow they never have any less seed. ”

“ A week spent in the rich soil and hot, humid atmosphere of the forcing-house causes the bud to swell and begin to grow. In ten days it is seen to have really made some appreciable growth. At the end of fourteen days the creamy-white, tightly-folded foliage leaves and the tip of the flower-stem are seen to have developed, the leaves broadening out somewhat about the eighteenth day. In twenty-one days the still folded leaves have gained a delicate, pale greenish hue, and the flower-buds have begun to make themselves plainly visible upon the flower-stem. ”

“ We wish present visible growth, and so we must be willing to lend aid, and first aid to such seeds is to give them a whiff of moist heat to soften what has become more hard than desirable through man's intervention. For in wild nature the seed is sown as soon as it ripens, and falls to the care of the ground before the vitality [Pg 47] of the parent plant has quite passed from it. That is why the seed of a hardy plant, self-sown at midsummer, grows with so much more vigour than kindred seed that has been lodged in a packet since the previous, season. ”

“ Light is not necessary, and in winter time the neighborhood of the furnace is often a very convenient place to keep them safe from frost. They should not be in the sun while germinating. When the first sprouts appear above the ground let another set be planted, and so on, till a series is obtained ranging from plants several inches high to those just starting from the seed. The seeds themselves should be soaked for a day and the series is then ready for study. The time required for their growth varies according to the temperature, moisture, etc. ”

“ Indeed, were I about to put any sod land, that was not very stiff and unsubdued, into small fruits, I would wait till whatever herbage covered the ground was just coming into flower, and then turn it under. The earlier growth that precedes the formation of seed does not tax the soil much, but draws its substance largely from the atmosphere, and when returned to the earth while full of juices, is valuable. ”

“ Well-grown specimens are quite attractive; and, as curious vegetable productions, contribute to the interest and variety of horticultural exhibitions.
THE SQUASH.
All the varieties are tender annuals, and of tropical origin. They only thrive well in a warm temperature: and the seed should not be sown in spring until all danger from frost is past, and the ground is warm and thoroughly settled; as, aside from the tender nature of the plant, the seed is extremely liable to rot in the ground in continued damp and cold weather. ”

“ The buds that appear on roots are unusual or abnormal,—they occur only occasionally and in no definite order. Buds appearing in unusual places on any part of the plant are called adventitious buds. Such usually are the buds that arise when a large limb is cut off, and from which suckers or water-sprouts arise.
Fig. 144.—Opening Pear Leaf-bud.
How Buds Open.—When the bud swells, the scales are pushed apart, the little axis elongates and pushes out. In most plants the outside scales fall very soon, leaving a little ring of scars. ”

“ When grown from seeds, the plants not only differ greatly in size and quality, but are much longer in attaining a growth suitable for cutting.
"Whether grown from seed, or increased by a division of the roots, a deep, rich soil, trenched to the depth of two or even three feet, is required to insure the full development of [Pg 627] the leaf-stalks; for upon their size, rapidity of growth, and consequent tenderness of fibre, much of their merit depends. The seed should be sown in April, in drills a foot asunder; thinning the plants, when a few inches high, to nine inches apart. ”

“ Once upon the ground, the seed has to germinate if it can; its root has to pierce the soil or find a way in between crevices of rocks or sharp-edged stones. All the time it is exposed to danger from birds, beasts, and insects, which are only kept off by its resin. But it is difficult to see, for its colour is just that of dead pine needles and its shape is such that it easily slips into crevices. Then the seven or eight small green seed leaves break out of the tough seed coat, and the seedling is now a small tree two inches high. ”

“ Summer-flowering, or Ten-week Stocks.—These annual varieties include a wonderful range of colours, as well as considerable diversity in the habit of growth. For their brightness, durability, and fragrance they are deservedly popular. It is usual to sow the seed under glass from the middle to the end of March. Pans or shallow boxes, filled with sweet sandy soil, make the best of seed-beds, and it may be well to say at once that no plants pay better for care and attention than the subjects now under consideration. ”

“ Throwing some loose stuff—clover hay, corn fodder or weeds—over the plants on a cold night will usually save them and a spell of warm weather that usually follows the first hard frosts may bring on immature fruit to a usable size. It requires about five months from the sowing of the seed to produce usable fruit so it will readily be seen that it is important to start the seed in the hotbed, greenhouse or in the house and to take every precaution to grow them on rapidly without any check. ”