The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-16

and not less interesting from the fact that
II mas been grown on the slopes OF Mount
Yesuvius and fortified by the lava poured
Which ensTfed e1 hiutoio Eer evI it.
self.
Tiers and tiers Of sacks are piled high
upon this floor, all filed with broad beans.
the greater part Of the early varieties OF
the plains Of Italy, Quantities Of peas Of all
varieties are collected on another floor,
hundreds OF tons Of the seed of this favorite
vegetable passing through the building
IN one season. Hundreds OF bushels OF
these have come the three months journey
have been brought from Canada; others
again have been harvested in the fertile
plains OF Germany, near the Hartz noun
tains.
Elsewhere are stored immense quanti-
ties Of the scarlet runner bean. How little
the amateur gardener, when he invests
threepence in half pint for his, garden,
knows about his purchase, or realizes how
far these beans may have come There
flashes through his mind no picture OF the
districts In far away Galicia, behind the
Carpathians where they have been har-
vested.
"The work OF farming and harvesting
these beans Is done mainly by peasants.
quantity dressed in their native garb of
sheepskins, who cultivate small portions
to the local markets. each with the produce
Of his small plot of land, which he disposes
Of to the buyers. The buyers, chiefly Jews,
make good profit as middlemen between
| the peasant cultivators and the British
wholesale merchant. and hundreds Of
bushels of beans are thus sent by way OF
Dantzic and Hamburg to London: In
lofty granary are piled quantities of radsh
seed, OF which some growers plant as many
as twenty bushels. How insignificant
compared with this. Close by are stored
tons and tons of the seed from which our
| favorite spring onion Is raised, and which
| claims southern France as its home.
1T is wonderful to note the care necessary
for the production of those velvety lawns
The answer given by the old gardener at
one OF the Oxford colleges to the American
who asked him for his lawn recipe does not
quite suffice.
. You cuts un and rolls un and cuts un
and rolls un,.. replied the old man,
ais that all that is required! asked the
.'Ye -es. just cuts I'm and rolls Yin for
200 years or more and you gets your lawn
all right,
this, however. The seed has been collected
from many countries. Germany, Holland,
Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and the
county OF Kent all contribute their share
toward il. The different samples thus
obtained are, thoroughly cleaned and
| screened. 90 that no foreign weed may re.
main. The natural grasses are then mixed
| with lust as great care as the tea nlerchan Mt
devotes to the blending OF his teas or the
chemist to the making up of an important
and intricate medi cine; indeed, the sheet
| descriptive Of the ingredients resembles
nothing more thar doctors prescription.
The quantities of each variety are all ac-
ourately specified, and the names written
in Latin Iatin, be It said, peculiar to the
seeds man and scarcely admissible in classic
Another interesting department Is that
Of the pea pickers. About 100 women are
employed for the work, They are seated in
rows at desk shaped benches, and bright and
happy they look working away as their
tongues keep tune to their hands. Rapidly,
| the1 pick out the bad peas and allow the good
| TO fall through hole in the desk into a bag
beneath. This bag seed, when carefully
separated, Is used for feeding purposes.
n an ordinary way these women PIX from loI
be weathered. as the last season. it might
take two days to pick single bushel
Wonderful to tell. the SCOTSMAN has
also his Incubator: In room at the top
OF one Of the buildings are found hundreds
Of small pots containing growing seeds.
These are the tests to ascertain whether or
not the seeds will really grow, and in this
! way every lot Of seed which comes into the
| warehouse Is at once eampled-that is, NIFTY
| or 100 seeds are counted out and placed inthe
testing chamber. The results of these
erowths are recorded in book, and later
! transferred by the testing man into the
| large locked ledgers which have beenalready
mentioned; thus percentages OF the growths
are obtained.
ITO prove the correctness Of these results
duplicate sample Of seeds is put into an in,
cubator, much after the fashion adopted
! by the scientist to propagate his tacili.
| The seeds are wrapped In blotting paper;
then put on thick sheets OF the same ard
placed on zinc trays; they are then thoroughly
dampened and left in hot chamber to ger
inmate, which takes about two days, The
necessity Of the portly pedigree books
becomes at once apparent, because no
matter what information is required
they can give it all. At "a glance one can see
what quantity OF stock exists, where grown
| and from what parentage.
sThe busiest time in one Of these ware.
houses is ma turally from November unit!
February, when enormous quantities Of
seeds and bulbs pass through the buildings,
and any one who is then lucky enough
to obtain permission to visit one of these
closely guarded repositories, teeming with
interest, will scarcely regret the hour thus
| spent