Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1873-06-12

THE man who makes a specially of any
kind of grain or plant and cultivates it ex-
tensively can undoubtedly produce the
same more cheaply and perhaps of a bet
ter quality than one who does not. But
there are circumstances which should be
taken into consideration besides quality
and price; for sometimes the convenience
of having a thing at hand when it is want
ed is of more value to the farmer than su-
perior quality or cheapness. We are not
| Of that class who sigh for the good old
days of homespun cloth that was good
enough for anybody, because the best of
wives and daughters made it: still ii can
not be denied that the tendency Of the
present generation is toward the opposite
extreme, and there Is far too much de-
! tendency upon specialists. The nipple
ments that were formerly made upon the
farm are now purchased of manufacture
ers and while we do not doubt the superb
GRITTY of these "boughten" implements,
still to obtain the money with which to
pay for them is frequently serious mat
ter.
| Fifty years ago, the pioneer farmer car
! ried with him TO his new home pear,
| apple, peach, and other fruit tree seeds,
| knowing that to rear an orchard required
| years of precious time, and that he must
I begin as soon as possible. Of course this
! old-time system of commencing with the
seed was very slow one; still there were
many compensations for long delays,
among which we may mention the thou
| sands of choice varieties now being prop
agated by our nrserymen and distributed
over the country, bearing the names of the
originators These would never have
| ~ aaI haI Iao e., IL, Il !
| Seeding orchards of our pioneers Nur-
series have become so abundant of late
| that no farmer attempts to raise fruit trees
from seed, consequently the pioneer says,
Il will soon be able to purchase the trees
| required for my orchard, and | am not
| going to spend any time in raising seed
llngs.' The nursery agent is sure to come
| along IN due time, but he wants cash for
| his wares and unless the farmer has this
| TO spare he must wait and as a rule he
| does wait as many years for his bearing
orchard OF nursery grown trees as it would
have required to have raised them from
| seed, had beginning been made the first
season. We do not say this because we
have sympathy for the farmer who is de-
prived OF his cider or appledumpl
| Tor when he neglects to provide such nee
esSarles or luxuries, there is no one who
we speak for the wives and children of
thousands of farmers, who have lived five,
ten or more years upon their farms and
have not as yet made the first move toward
! supplying their families with fruit The
same neglect is observable in the vegeta.
bic garden, and of this we designed to
| speak more particularly than of the or
| chard
| The catalogues Of seedsmen are scatter
ed over the country by the hundreds of
| thousands annually, and the people are
informed that whatever seeds are required
for the garden can be sent by mail very
cheap. There is no use of ANYBODY rails
ing garden seeds but the regular profess
sional seed grower. He is the man to do
it and give you the best article in the
mari et, of course adding novelties to his
list from year to year, although the pur-
chaser finds that they are not always new
or valuable.
Then the Agricultural Department at
Washington enters into competition with
the seedsmen and distributes millions of
packages free TO the constituents of Con
gressmen; but with all these aids the
private vegetable gardens of our farmers
are, as whole, sorry-looking affairs.
Sometimes the seeds purchased or received
as gift fail to grow; then again, the
varieties may not be adapted to the eli
mate or soil, and a partial or complete
failure is the result.
Now the rene dY which we propose is
this raise your own seed whenever and
wherever it can be done, even if it does
cost little more than to purchase them
If you have choice or even a good varie-
ty Of beet, carrot, parsnip, turnip, or
onion, plant few roots this spring and
raise the requisite quantity of seed there
from. Ii you do this there will be no de-
lay next spring in waiting upon the mails
or seedsmen for supply. New and promis-
ing sorts need not in the meantime be
neglected but be sure and have a supply
OF the old and well known ones on hand
while the value of others is being ascer
tanned. Variations frequently occur
among vegetables; a single beet NAV as
sumo different color or form from the
general type of the variety, and if the
change is apparently an Improvement,
then the specimen may be carefully pre-
served and planted for seed. New varie-
ties are generally produced in this man
neT, but it is only those who sre on the
lookout for such things who ever find and
preserve them. Our choicest varieties of
tomatoes, melons, squashes and other an
nual fruits, are produced by selection; the
best being preserved for seed. The GER
tainty of knowing that the seed we SOW is
fresh and good is something; besides, it is
usually the case that if the first
planting fails it is then too late to repair
the loss, and a whole season is lost Then
the convenience of having a supply of
seeds on hand when wanted and not be-
ing obliged to write to some dealer, or 90
to seed store or neighbor for them, is
worth far more than their cash value,
or cost of raising. Those who are in want
Of garden seeds this spring should not
omit planting a few for the purpose of
raising seed, remembering that man who
depends upon his own resources, whether
it be garden seeds or things of more i'm
portance, is far more likely to succeed
than he who trusts to luck, or the reliabil-
ity of his fellow men.-Ne1c York Sun.
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cure Of such diseases have been fully tested
by the medical faculty. The Balsam is, con-