Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1901-02-15
FREE SEEDS FOR FARMERS.
Tho Annual Dist ibui,on by tho Govern
INFANT Will Snnu l,euin

Is now in progress, and while
this has always been regarded
with considerable disfavor by every
Secretary of Agriculture, the manner
In which it is done and the good re-
suits achieved with 40 part of the APP
preparation have considerably soften.
ed the criticism of the project as a
whole. Il am not going to fight Con-
gress," said Secretary Wilson. IF it
wants seeds and appropriate the mon
ey to buy them it is our duty to fur
nish them in the very best way in can
be done. The appropriation for this
work was formerly $l30,000. This year
Congress has added $4,000 to this ap-
preparation. but allows me to eXpend
at least $40 900 for the importation or
seeds and plants for experimental pur-
poses. About 100000 worth of seeds
will be sent out by the congressman
this year. The clerical work which
falls to the department from the send
ing out of these seeds will cost SIS, 900.
| shall spend about $25 900 in the i'm
portation of foreign seeds and plants,
and the balance of the money will be
used to fill special requests we are
continually getting from different
parts of the country for seeds of va
rious kinds.
THE seeds which are sent out under
the supervision of the Department OF
Agriculture to the congressional dis
tribution are of a better quality than
are sold by any professional seedsmen
in the United States. There never
were better seeds. They are tested in
every possible way, not only as to their
terminating power, but we actually
grow them. and we know that the va
riety is the same as called for in the
contract.
"The contract for furnishing these
seeds is let to the lowest bidder. and
we recognize no other factors in
awarding this business. The contract
is let some time in advance, so as to
give the man who takes it time to buy
his seeds in the localities or from the
people where it is necessary for him to
get them. We keep a regular seed &C
count with each Congressman, the
number of packages of seeds to which
he is entitled is credited to him and
he sends to us the franks to be pasted
upon the packages by the contractors.
These franks are counted and charged
to his account until his seed quota is
exhausted.
I'VE commence this week to dis
tribute seeds in southern Florida.
Three months from now we will fin
sh the distribution along the north
ern border of the United States. While
it is true that a great many of these
aIc 10 Al tn
they do no good. find there are some
sections of the United States where
they are highly valued and where
they undoubtedly do a great deal Of
good
This is certainly true in the South
ern States. Booker Y. Washington
came to me not long ago and said: l
am going to have a meeting of colored
farmers at Tuscogee. in Alabama, and
want you to give me some seeds for
them. All right | said; how many
will there be- About ,vJ. he replied.
sent 20 packages of seed down there,
and they were Of ,reat value to those
people. In some OF these Southern dis
tricts tn. farmers have very little
money. and many of them live at great
seeds can be bought and those they
get from Congressman or from this de-
partment mean Il great deal to them
and their families. On the whole, so
long as we are allowed to use part or
the seed appropriation for other pur-
poses than the congres sional distribn-
ton, | am very we'll satisfied with
things as they are Certainly no harm
is done, end perhaps considerable
good.
1--WE give the farmers wife enough
flower seeds to make a very nice gar
den, and we give the farmer himself
good selection Of the very best va
rites of staple field and garden seeds,
which, if utilized 10 their full value, as
| think they are in il majority of
instances. bring to the Government in
directly a very handsome return for
the investment.
Each Senator, Representative and
Delegate will be given lnis year for
distribution nearly nine thousand
packages of seeds. Each one of these
packages contains five papers. each
representing Il different vegetable or
flower. In addition to this supply the
members of Congress from tobacco
and cotton growing districts are al
lowed cotton and tobacco seed-llO
packages of the former and go pack
ages of the latter. In each of the
packages OF seed peas, beans. or corn
are made the basis of the selection. To
these are added beets, cucumbers. let
tuce. melons. onions and radishes
The total number of packets of all
vegetable and flower seeds sent out is
about fifteen million. fourteen million
of these being vegetable and one mil
lion flower seeds.
The contractor buys his lettuce and
onion seeds in California. The vine
seeds, such as cucumbers and melons,
come almost entirely from Nebraska
and Kansas The peas come from
three places. Cape Vincent, N Y;
Traverse, Mich. and Manitowoc, Wis,
all these places being in the same lat
itude and the plants found there being
free from destructive insects. The
corn comes from the central Northern
states. and the beans are all grown in
New York. The radiSh seeds are i'm
ported, for apparently they do not
retain their good qualities when grown
in this country.
These seeds are brought to Washing
ton by the contractor and put up by