The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-12-04
GATHERING SEEDS FOR THE PEOPLE
How the Department of Agriculture oh
tains Seeds for Distribution.


How the Department of Agriculture OBJ
tains Seeds for Distribution.
Congress appropriates 100000 for
the purpose of buying seeds annually.
1t costs $50, 600 to put up the product
and ship 1t from Washington, so that
only $40, 900 is actually devoted to pay
Ing for the material distributed. In
June and July special agents travel
about inspecting the crops which the
seedsmen are raising. They select what
they want by sample, and in Novem-
Der they Journey around again and
make their contracts.
The seedsmen do not usually pro-
duce their stock in trade on their own
land They hire the use of extensive
tracts from farmers-sometimes such a
plantation will include a thousand
acres-paying so much an acre and
supplying the seeds to be planted, On
their part the farmers contract to de-
liver the crops obtained, husked or
thrashed, cleaned and In good condi-
ton. 1t is agreed that they shall do
all the labor and thai the parties of
the other part shall be permitted to
examine the fields at any time and
weed out all "rogues," which are
plants of inferior varieties such as will
creep in.
In summer time, when the crops are
growing, special agents come along.
To them each scotsman shows not his
green fields, but his 'trial garden, I"
wherein he cultivates few specimens
of each choice vegetable that he is en-
gagged in propagating. The govern
ment buyers look the stock over, de-
eide in general way as to what they
want to purchase and go away, to re-
turn in the late autumn and give their
orders after inspecting the seeds In the
bins.
These seed farms are scattered all
over the United States Cabbage seeds
are nearly all grown on Long Island,
elsewhere in New York state and in
Connecticut. Farmers believe that
they need salt air Of caulifower seeds
the same remarks may be repeated.
Peas for seed all come from the neigh
borhood of Traverse, Mich, and Mani
towoc, Wis. Those got from elsewhere
are always apt to have little worms in
them, but the flies of which these
worms are the larvae do not live in the
region mentioned Beet seeds are
nearly, all imported. Carrot seeds
come from the far west, especially from
California, in which state are also pro-
duced most of the lettuce seeds and the
best. Corn and onions for seed are
raised all over the country, and the
same is true of the seeds of melons
Cucumber seeds come from Nebraska,
Wisconsin and Missouri.
Onion seeds are gathered by going
through the fields and cutting off the
pods at the tops of the stalk, tying
them in bundles and thrashing them
out on canvas. Beans are allowed to
stand in the field until they are yellow,
after which they are stacked up until
they are perfectly dry and thrashed
out. Peas are permitted to get dry
and hard in the rows, and then are
taken to the barn for thrashing. To
get cabbage seeds the stalks which have
grown one year must be planted the
next, when they run to Seed The same
is true of carrots; the roots which have
developed in one season are put in the
ground the next and go to seed
The flower seeds which the depart.
ment distributes are nearly all imported
from abroad, where vast farms are de-
voted to raising them. They have to
be purchased from the big seed houses.
AS is the case with the vegetable seeds,
they are all tested before being sent
out. For this purpose curious little
window garden is maintained at the
seed barn, which consists of two good
sized pans about four inches deep.
Across the pans wires are laid in pairs,
with folds of cheesecloth hanging be-
tween each pair into the water, OF
which the pans are half full. The
seeds are sprinkled along in the folds
OF cheesecloth and quickly terminate,
their roots making their way through
the fabric in a dense network. Some
times vegetables thus grown in the
pans have actually produced peas,
beans and other things big enough to
eat. Any one who cares to get up such
window garden as this at home will
be well repaid for the slight labor in
volYed -Washington Star.