Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-03-05
SEED.


on this subject by stating that, perhaps, ma
iority of farmers are entirely too careless in
selecting their seeds. Many think that any
kind of seed that will sprout and "come up"
will do. This is grand mistake. There are
great many varieties Of corn, cotton, oats,
potatoes, wheat and rye. Some of these va
rieties are intrinsically better than others !;
again, some are better, relatively, than Others
One kind of corn may be better suited for
certain kind of soil than another kind. The
same is true with regard to everything else
that is cultivated by the farmer. This can
be learned only by experiment.
The first thing that should be taken into
consideration in theselection ofseed for plant
ing, is to getgood sound and healthy seed.
We will not undertake to prove that disease
is hereditary in plants, as we'll as in animals.
Every farmer of close observation knows that
it is fact. TO avoid the workings of this
law of nature, the best of everything should
be selected for planting. 1t is bad economy
and miserable waste of time and labor, to
plant poor seed. Many persons lay away
their refuse and faulty potatoes for seed.
This is as great an error as it would be for
stock raiser to select his worthless animals for
breeders. This, to a very great extent, &C
counts for the fact that potatoes "run out, ," as
it is said, on many plantations. A sound
and healthy germ is necessary to produce
strong and vigorous plant.
The kind of soil and the climate in which
seed has been raised, should be taken into
consideration before planting. Plants have,
by nature, their latitudes. Reared in these
they produce, other things being equal, per-
feet seed; grown out Of their proper latitude,
the seed is imperfect and degenerated. This
is not only so, but in the process of time
plants, like men, become climatized. They
undergo change, by which they arc adapted
to the soil and climate in which they are
reared for series of years. The mode of
cultivation has much to do, both in improv-
ing and in degenerating the nature ofa plant.
The flowers of domesticated plants are very
different in their structure from what the
same plant is in its wild state. All these facts
should be carefully considered before select
ing seed. 1t would not do to plant Irish po-
tatoes that had been grown on the island OF
Bermuda, for potatoes grown on that island
will not reproduce themselves. At the equa-
tor. wheat will not reproduce itself. 1t will
make a stalk and bloom, but will not make a
grain. This indicates that it is out Of its
proper latitude. Common sense teaches that
seed should be selected from that region in
which the plant attains perfection. In the
mountains of Virginia, a watermelon will de-
generate in few years, until it is scarcely tit
to eat The largest varieties dwindle down
until they are not larger than goose egg.
In the same region, peach loses all its fla
vor and is insipid but Irish potatoes are
grown to perfection, and apples of luscious
appearance and exquisite flavor are found in
every orchard. 1t would be grand mistake
to procure watermelon seed from that latitude,
but wise to plant Irish potatoes that had been
grown in those valleys that lie among the
mountains.
Care should also be taken in selecting seed.
even from region adapted to its perfect
growth. The part of an ear of corn nearest
to the stalk is evidently better adapted for
planting than the top of the ear. The butt
end of the ear natures first and better than
any other part of it. From the end which is
Joined to the stalk there is a gradual falling
off, and an experiment viii prove the same
with regard to plants produced from grains
selected from different places on the cob.
Grains selected from the lower end will pro.
duce stronger and more vigorous stalks than
grains selected from any other part. The
grains from the top end of the ear will pro-
duce stalks which will grow higher than the
stalks grown from grains selected from any
other place on the ear, but they will be slim
and spindling. The principle is the same that
we find in the animal kingdom. In a litter
of pigs some are better, and would be chosen
as breeders, rather than others. The same is
true with regard to the seed of all plants.
Some seeds that grow from the same parent
stalk are better than others.
To obtain pure seed of any particular kind
is no easy matter. 1t is true that like pro-
duces like but still we may plant one kind
of cotton and it may produce seed very dit-
ferent The pollen from very worthless
variety may be carried on the wings of a bee,
and good variety may in this way be mixed
with bad one. If every farmer would make
it point to improve his seed, this evil could
in many instances be overcome.
CURE FOR NEURALG1A-The Munich Co.
zette says: A friend who suffered horribly from
pains from neuralgia, hearing of a noted ply
sician in Germany who invariably cured the
disease, crossed the ocean and visited Germa-
nv for treatment He was permanently cured
after short sojourn, and the doctor freely
gave him the simple remedy used, which was
nothing but poutice and tea made from the
common field thistle The leaves are maccra-
ted and used on the parts afflicted as poul-
tice, while small quantity Of the leaves are
boiled down to pint, aud a small wine glass
of the decoction drank before each meal.
Our friend says he has never known it to fail
in giving relief, while in almost every case it
has effected cure"
pg- When about to lay down grape vines,
where the soil is sandy or a sandy loan, all
that is necessary is to lay the vine along the
ground, after properly pruning it for the sue
ceeding seasons fruiting, and cover lightly
with soil. If the covering be not entirely
perfect, the danger, even from our severcst
winters, is but slight. The heavier the soil