Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-29
American Seeds
for Americans
by Frederic J. Haskin

American spinach, cabbage and beans
| for America Is the new ordes of things.
| For the first time in its history. the United
! States has become self-supporting ia
! SO far us farm and garden seed are CON
! cerned.
When France and Belgium stopped
| raising seed and went 90 war and when
/ Holland and Denmark began the hope
/ less struggle against war chipping con
ditions, the United States suddenly
| realized that its most important source
| of forage. field and vegetable seed was
J effectunllv tut off for nobody knew how
/ many months or years. The scarcity
| of seed raised the market price; the high
| price induced greater production; and
| the result WAS that a pending calamity
resolved itself into benefit.
Bermuda onion seed are now raised
| in California, stigar beet seed. formerly
| imported from Germany. have become
an American product Sudan gross IS
| raised i'm Kansas Every section ot the
| country is engaged IN some line nt seed
production, with California and the land
of the Rockies in the cad. In fact raising
seed on national scale is one OF the Am r.
can war industries Unlike most ~ inc
| war projects, If is going to bc still greater
rs peace industry.
NOW snIrpiHa SEED ABROAD.
Proof of the United states progress
rs Il seed-producing country IS seen m
| the fact that il has shipped millions of
rounds Of seed to Europe during the
last years Of war. and this IN spite oi inc
| fact that we had To provide almost the
entire supply Of the American farmer,
both the professional and the amateur
Iuyrrsauft Ia fn1Htn
not spare any part of their crops for seed
nnd who could not secure home rrJwn
seed, were thus enabled to continue
raising their sorely needed crops The
requirements of Europe now will b
even greater while farm lands are being
restored to TT condition for tiiing and
sowing, and until tho seed farmers IN
Europe return 10 q normal footing.
A boom in domestic seed production
does not imply that tho United States
If no longer to be in the market for nanv
kinds Of seed On the contrary more
seed than ever will he imported when
Europe is ready to sell IT, In some cases,
The same kinds Of seed are both imported
and exported in large amounts Ore
reason for this apparent waste If trans
pcrtation il that q certain type of seed
raised III tho United + tes may thrive
IN Canada, whereas Canada cannot
use the same type produced in South
American soil ThoI ntod states tal r.
the South American seed and pnsscs IN
part of It's homegrown variety
lust where the nations of Europe
now stand As regarf's supplies Of seed
on hand and the prospects III produc-
ton IS at present only estimated Two
scientists of the Department II AQri-
culture are making a seed rvey ID
England and eypoct later to VISIT Holland
Belgium, France and Denmark hi order
IL study the crop and market condi-
TORS Reports snnt in from these coun-
tries will serve as valuable guides n
American seed farmers by indicating
the opportunities fer exporting and
importing
HrE STATES PROBABLY SHORT.
Nothing Is actually known Of the seed
situation in countries under control of
the Central Power but il is assumed
that Germany and the Austrian states
are holding no surplus supplies Indi-
cations are however. that Germany is
already planning to build up her IN
ternatlonal seed trade on its pre- war
scale Danish seed are being bought BY
German agents through an office g.
tablished in Copenhagen
II the same time counter line II
being taken by Great Britain, which NAV
be followed by Others Of the Allied na-
tioas The British seed trade through
It's national organization. has declared
an unconditional boycott on German
products
In Allied and neutral seetl-nrotilcirs