The Brookhaven leader., 1886-08-12
SAVING SEED.
Timely Hints to Those Who Desire TO
Have Good Crops Next season.

Timely Hints TO Those Who Desire 10
Have Good Crops Next season.
We think il well to can the attention
: the readers TO the need OF being care
FIJI to save good seed for another sea-
s5n. The carelessness Of preserving
seed i a notorious fact. While it is a
well-understood fact that Ike in the
vegetable world practically produces
Ike. N thousands Of cases, seed is just
Il, likely - b. saved from poor as from
good spec mems, and then the seed that
: gathered i not well taken care of.
The result Is disappointment in the next
year crop and finally the conclusion
!, reached that the particular variety
was run out with the grower, and he
goes TO the expense Of buying fresh
-eed. 1t is very likely. too, that such
men do not properly plant and care for
the crops-for carelessness in one d!rec-
ton j. pretty apt TO imply carelessness
IA all directions-an then he
Jlames the scotsman. But
the scotsman. it may be,
1oes not alway- sell as good seed as he
should. and even careful grower will
D. disappointed. Ii Is better to save
our own seed, if we will take the pains
= make 4 careful selection. for then we
will know precisely what we have. and
nav reasonably expect that we will get
what we want another wear. It's folly TO
save the seed of weak plants By what
process of reasoning can We expect
srOng plant from the seeds gathered
from such plants? Seed has a natural
tendency TO degenerate, and that ten
uency must be combated. and it can be
combated only by making careful selec-
ZION. Some seed pla My shows that it
has no permanence of characteristics.
Ne plant it and it produces something
nat in some marked particular is not
what We expected. Now il is folly To
replant such seed. Unless the plant it
produces is perfect, seed from the plant
can not reasonably be expected to give
satisfaction. 1t often requires many
years of selection-breeding some call it
10 invest seed with permanence of char
acteristics. The term pedigree has
Deen attached to seed, and not inappro-
priately. If a variety can be clearly
traced back through the different stages
If It's origin, its history may add much
0 the degree of esteem in which it is
acid.
The carrot is frequently referred to to
show what care in the selection of seed
viii do and what carelessness in the
anne direction may result in. Ii the
ed of carrot is not carefully pre-
served it will actually turn into a weed,
and though plants in general will retain
heir distinctive character under neglect
much better than the carrot will, still
there is an unmistakable tendency TO
degenerate. In the selection of seed,
30. we should have an eve to early ma
.urity. The plants that mature the
earliest are the ones from which the
seed should be selected. 1t is always de-
sirable, too, that fruit and vegetables
should be as nearly uniform in ap-
gearance as it isspossible to have
them. A very considerable de-
gree of uniformity can be in-
sured by selecting seed from the plants
that are uniform. There is very great
carelessness frequently in this particu-
lar. Even in selecting such common
seed as corn there is so much careless
ness that several varieties are often
m xed. to its detriment as sSlabls
commodity.
Productiveness is a matter that no
one need be told should be regarded.
A productive plant, as well as pro-
ductiye variety. should be the one
selected for seed. Certain trees are
more fruitful than others which seem TO
be equally as fayorably situated, and
everything points to the conclusion that
such trees have within themselves
superior productiyeness. The same 10
true of plants. Now this difference
ran not be explained, but the demon
strated fact is before us, and the best
we can do is to recognize it and select
our seed from the best II is not unfre-
quently the case that the difference in
Weld is attributed TO sother causes
when as a matter of fact the difference
in the quality of seed is the sole cause.
Let US prepare to save good seed this
season. Western Rural,