I did say he wrote to plant a germed seed but the text doesnt say germed, just says a seed, I'm sure it does vary somewhat from book to book even by the same author.

Here's the text outta Marijuana Grow Basics by JC:

Seeds need air to germinate. Moist,
soggy growing mediums will cut off
oxygen supplies and the seed will
literally drown. Planting seeds too
deeply also causes poor germination.
Seedlings do not have enough
stored energy to force through too
much soil before sprouting. Plant
seeds twice as deep as the width
of the seed. For example, plant a
0.12S-inch (0.3 mm) seed 0.2S-inch
(6mm) deep.