Nebraska advertiser., 1862-10-18
Principles InVOlYe1 in the Selec.
ton of Seed.

Va C~NNo
The following extract which gives a
very clear idea OF the importance of Sc
iecting seed carefully fer crops of any
kind, and of the general principles in
volved, Is from the Genesee Farmer for
October:
The reason why Cauliaowers run up
and produce such small heads is not ow-
ing, as | believe, to the soil being too
dry; not to carly planting or 10 late
planning but simply aid Pt rely to bad seed
| do not mean that the seed is bad ln
the sense that it will not grow. The
\ dorst seed often grows the best; but it IS
had seed because it has not been proper
| y bred.
We want thorough. bred seed just as
much as thorough bred cattle; and by
thorough h-bred | mean that it must have
ITS desirable qualities so often repeated
as TO become a fixed characteristic of the
plant. For instance: The turnip in It's
wild state, has little or no tub. but runs
Up to seed The first year. Now suppose
we had nothing bat this wild turnip seed
what should we have to do IN order TO
get a plant that would form a bulb and
not go TO. seed the next year? Why, we
should select these plants which manifeS-
ted Ghe greatest tendency to forms bulbs;
then we should allow them to go TO seed.
pulling out all the others From this
seed We should probably get few plants
with still greater tendency to form bul6:
these we should save and allow them to
seed, destroying all the rest. BY sowing
his seed again. ard repeating the pro
;ess for several years, we should a
ength get plant with large bulb, and
which did not 60 to seed until the follow
ing year.
Now, when you have gained the object
IF your desire, after years of careful Sc
lection, what would you do2 Would YOU
let all your plants go to seed, whether
be bulbs were large or small? p? II you
lid, the plants would soon run tack into
heir cid habits, and all your lator would
be lost
After a turnip with the desired bulb
forming qualities had been obtained, you
you'd carefully save the seed and SOW il.
But it would be found that a few plants
would still retain some of their old hab
its of running up TO seed, or. at least a
tendency 10 do so. and it would be nee
eSsary to reject all such, and to continue
he process of careful breeding until the
desirable qualities were fixed.
To raise good turnip seed it is neres-
>ary 10 select good bulbs and transplant
them. If, as is now sometimes done in
England, Il ey are allowed to go TO seed
IN the drills where they are grown, the
plants raised from such seed will have a
tendency to run to too much top. The
transplanling seems to arrest this ten
iency. | cannot bat think it would be
desirable for our farmers 10 raise their
own turnip seed, instead Of, as now,
sowing that which is imported from
England, and which may have been
raised in the careless manner alluded TO.
We could thus be sure Of. having good
seed
An instance on a large scale once came
under my observation, which lIsra,ed,
in 1eplorabIe manner, this tendency in
the turnip 10 return to its original hablt
Of running up to seed the same year in
stead of forming bulbs. john Hllditch
of Stantoa sowed some fifty acres of
lurnips very .elrly in the season, thinking
10 get larger crop than by sowing later
at the usual time. Tne plants "a ne up
and grew spIendidIy, aud everybody
thought he would have a magn iceLt
crop; but the weather continued mild
lale in the fall and winter, ard 10 ana
behold the whole field showed an un-
tnis;akable tendence to run to seed, anil
he was obliged 10 turn his sheep into the
field, and also to set men to work with
scythes TO cut of the starting tops I'm
der such circumstances, of course, the
bulbs were pilhy and poor, and the loss
was very great.
But what" you ask, "has ali this TO
do with cauihowers 2" | will tell you !:
The head OF a caulifower IS, like the
bulb Of a turnip, not the natural growth
of the pant. II is tie result of cultiva-
ton. The plant naturally runs up TO
seed without forming head. We have
by careful breeding, obtained this desi.
rabIe guilty, but it Is not of so perma
nent a character that we can dispense
with care in raising the seed.
To raise good caulhower seed, we
must SOW the seed in September OF Oc.
lober. and preserve the plants during he
winter, and let them head next spring
Some Of the plants will form nice com.
pact heads, while others will have a
tendency TO run up to seed. These latu /
must be pulled out, and on'y the gool
heads allowed TO go.to seed. Bat uaior.
tunttely the seed growers 20 NJ seem tc
Understand this. Judging from the re.
suits. II would seem that they must cut al
the good heads to ea;, and leave only thC
poor ones for sasG.
The sam3 remark will apply 70 cab
Oage; we should raise seed only from
. / L = Ioes baads