The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1913-02-04


terminate, and free from rubbish and
foreign seed.
1t has become an important func.
ton of the department of agriculture
to purchase and prepare seeds, plants,
shrubs and even trees for the multi
tude. 1t might have been supposed
with the great variety and almost
limitless extent of the plant life
found here that the fathers of our
nation would have assumed that this
feature of development would take
care of itself. But not so. Benja-
min Franklin, when in England, sent
to Pennsylvania mulberry cuttings
and silk worm eggs, hoping to make
them a basis of a new industry, and
whether it was due to his initiative
or not it has found Judgment in GER
tain sections of the country. Thorn
as Jefferson during his sojourn in
France forwarded many samples of
grasses, rice, vegetables and fruits.
Many Millions of Packages.
Few people have an adequate con-
ception of the number of packages
handled and the labor and care inz
volved in the distribution The con-
tract for the distribution made in
January last year called for 63, A.
sos packets of seeds for vegetables,
flowers, lawn grass, etc. Most Of the
seed for small Vegetables come from
Southern California, and are shipped
by the carload to Washington. The
bags are taken directly to the plant
of the contractors, where samples
of seed are taken for tests by the
government experts.
There are 2,664,000 packets of
beets sent out, the same number of
cucumber, lettuce, muskmelon and
watermelon, while of onions and rad
ish there were 1928, 600 and $780,
900 packets of peas, beans and corn.
There were many varieties of garden
flowers, embracing those that can be
grown either in Florida or Alaska.
Testing the Seed.
Samples OF seed go through tests
of termination in the plant located
in the grounds of the agricultural de-
partment. Three different tests are
made for each family of vegetables
and flowers. One of the surest con-
sists of planting the seed in sand,
that is first superheated to kill any
remnant of vegetable life that might
be in it. The sand and seeds are put
in shallow boxes and placed in hot
houses. They are carefully labeled,
the name, time of planting and so on
being given. If the seed do not
sprout in given time, and also
given number of seed do not show
up, the stock is not considered wor-
thy and must be made good. Anoth-
er test consists in placing the seeds,
after counting them, between double
DlOlISIS IudG dIS l1ASC uoHl pCiCU'
These are folded over and put into
terminating machine filled with
shelves, holding the five specimens
required under the contract. They
are kept in a regular temperature
for the requisite number of hours,
when they are examined by the at
tendant If not found up to the
standard they are reported to the
contractors, who make the require
ment good. Ten days is the full
limit for the termination, and if at
that tine a sufficient per cent of the
seed has not sprouted seeds from 9TH
er parts of the country are sent in
their places. The department invites
bids for its supply of seeds each year,
and receives responses from many
sources. Most of the flower seeds
come from Germany, France and
Northern Africa, where they can be
produced at much less expense than
in this country.
The distribution of seed begins on
January 10. Formerly girls did the
packing of the bags. Now the work
is done almost entirely by machin-
cry. A single machine can fill and
seal so bags of seed a minute. The
packets are conveyed through chute
on to a lower floor, where they are
assorted, franked and prepared for
mailing.
Each congressman receives 10000
franks from the agricultural depart
ment. AS a rule, they have some per-
son in their district who sends them
names and actresses of their constit-
uents who will most profit by the
gift. Each congressman can choose
the variety of vegetables and other
seeds sent to his constituents. When
he has procured the names and ad-
dresses they are turned over to the
agricultural department, which gives
them to the contractors, with the
congressman requisition, when the
work of putting up and mailing the
packages commences.
The first appropriation by congress
for the distribution of seeds was one
OF $1,000 in 1899. Only 10000
packages was the original output,
while for the year ended last April
the appropriation amounted to $685.