the same and publish the names of p
sons selling adulterated seeds.
So extensive is the seed business in
the United States that many seedmen go
to an enormous expense m Pl,bll’ll"'8
each year catalogues giving the maty
varieties offered for sale by them.
Home Testa of Seeds.
The Department of Agriculture in or
AMERICAN SEED GROWING
der to aid farmers to determine f
themselves without much trouble the
Cheap Seeds the Most Expensive
germinating qualities of seeds Pl,rc’,^'d
by them, has issued a number of bulle
GUY ELLIOTT MITCHELL
ts upon the subject. A,very simple
for sprouting seeds is describ
lies idle and he curses his luck which abolishes a system whereby the Con apparatus
ed in the bulletin. It consists of a shal-
has thus shown itself against him, gressmen who wants to keep in touch I low
basin or one of granite ware.
whereas the fault was his own, and he with his constituents has an opportunity The tin
bottom of the basin is covered with
was simply penny wise and pound to mail out a little package of garden
water
and
a small flat bottom of porous
foolish.
seeds to his entire list of voters, he clay is placed
inside. The seeds after
cheerfully
votes
against
the
measure
and
This can be said of many different
having been soaked are laid between
instead
votes
for
an
appropriation
of
kinds of seed.
a quarter of a million of dollars two layers of moist blotting paper or
Or suppose he buys expensive early over
a
year
for free garden and flower seeds. flannel cloth. A pane of glass covers the
cabbage or radish seed, it is an easy t If somebody
introduce a bill, even dish, which is to be kept in a tempera
matter for the unscrupulous dealer to with this big would
approi>rlation, but speci ture of about 70 degrees. The atmosphere
mix this seed half and half with very fying that the Secretary of Agriculture, of an ordinary living room is suitable it
cheap late cabbage or radish seeds, pre- , should
:u expend
expend me
the money
money in
in prucuimg
procuring care is taken to set the apparatus near a
•__ 1.. killed
1 :n .1 (so
/ _ ......
_.......
viously
that .L
they
will not
distributing only such seeds and] stove at night. Ihe basin may be lett
come untrue to name), and unless the and <.............
buyer is particularly observant it may
never occur to him that he has been
buncoed.
Broadly speaking, the growing of farm
■nd garden seeds may be considered the
¿most important of agricultural indus
tries, for unless the quality of the seed
•s maintained, the succeeding crop is
greatly diminished in volume and deter
iorated in quality, so that if applied to
the country as a whole, the loss would
be enormous.
“The great magnitude of the American
■eed business is little appreciated,” said
■ prominent seed dealer in describing
the car-loads of field and garden seeds
which he handles each spring. “The
producing capacity of the seeds quickly
deteriorates, in most instances, and the
most successful farmers buy large quan
tities of seeds. The farmer is a some
Tricks of Some Dealers.
what cautious individual, and although
he buys, on an average, double the
Another method of defrauding the
amount of seeds he did ten years ago, seed buyer, practiced by cheap seedsmen
he has not, in every instance, reached who never expect to do business a sec
the poin- where he recognizes that the ond time with the customer, is to sell
greatest economy lies in getting the best him outright the cheap seeds of some
and patronizing only those houses whose plant such as a muskmelon, for instance,
reputation forbids them to sell poor and under a label of some new or high-
adulterated seeds.”
priced variety. He puts in a hard sea
son’s work trying to raise good musk
Seeds Apt to Retrograde.
The deterioration in many seeds is melons, and at the end he finds he has
very marked, and large seedmen go to a heterogeneous collection of inferior
great lengths to produce the best pos sorts. Still another practice which the
sible seed and to have various establish reputable seedsmen will not counten
ments in different parts of the country ance is to sell seeds which may be true
where the conditions arc the best for to name and which will also germinate,
production. It is not possible that the but which are weak and poor. An ex
best results can be attained in produc ample of this was noticed by the writer
ing a great number of seeds on any one in the Colorado muskmelon fields. The
farm or in any one locality, however Rocky Ford cantaloupes had for some I
favored. The soil and climate which years attained a country-wide fame1
may bi the best adapted for producing through their sweetness and fine flavor. 1
one kind of seed may result only in a They were shipped all over the United I
Very inferior seed from some other kind States. Then came a great demand for
EVERYTHING for the GARDEi
\ is the title of Our New Catalogue for 1906-the most beat*]
ul and instructive horticultural publication of the day,
186 pages —700 engravings —7 superb colored olatu.!
7 duotone plates of vegetables and flowers.
,
IttE
PETER HENDERSON & CO
WANT r
SEED LETTUCE AND ONIONS IN HEAD
partly open from time to time to admit
the exchange of air and gases, using a
good-sized dish with small saucers and
renewing the water occasionally. Sev
eral kinds of seed may be tested at once
at a trifling cost. The Department cau
tions the far., r against extremes of
temperature and excessive moisture dur
ing the experiments. In some of the
larger and more reliable seed houses of
this country there is a well-equipped
and appointed incubator room in which
tests are made by the seedmen In
order to ascertain whether or not the
seeds will really grow. This is done
with every lot of seed that comes in
the warehouse and before distribu-
tion through the country. Results of
Patent Egg Separa
tor. Every Heuse-
lioid, Hotel, Restau
rant, Bakery, Drug
Store, in fact any
place where eggs are
used ueeds oue or
more.
Instantly separates
yolk and white, not a
particle of the latter
remaining in the
Separator. Does not
break yolk. Made
from solid piece of
metal. Always bright
and ready for use.
Sample 10 cents.
KANCY SUPPLY CO.,
Box 215,
Wasblo|tOB,ll|
Agent» wanted for these and other god
Write for circulars aud terms.
a&tdgg
Time to Abolish the System.
Congressman the free seed farce, and
speeches have been made annually de
riding the practice, showing that it is
unnecessary and unprofitable and a
waste of public money; yet when It
comes to voting for a measure which
Counts as Cash
/
To every one who will elite where thia »dvertliement waa aeen lad
r
B enetoaea Ten Cent» (in .tampa), we wilt mail the catalogue, 1«J al.o.eaj
Charge, our famous 50-Cent*’ Henderson Collection of aeeda.ceniuw
jng one packet ea. a ot Giant Mind Swill Piaif Giant Fanty Pamiri,
Grunt nutria alillri, mind; Hind.rl.n'l N.w TirS lill.n; Early Ruh T.ww.
■
trhiti Tippia Starlit RaSiih; In a coupon envelope, which, when empug
l
■ and interned, will be accepted aa a 25-cent"*b payment oa any ord»
Bww^a amounting to #1.00 and up ward.______________________ ________
As it is now carried out, the free seed
distribution should be stopped, and the
work of supplying the ordinary farm and
garden seeds, the results of which are
known to everybody, should be left to
the regular seedmen.
The seed business of the United States
• is one of great magnitude. While there
arc, of course, unscrupulous and fake
seed houses who do not hesitate to
adulterate the seeds they supply, the re
putable firms take great care iu seeing
that their meds are not only fresh, with
good germinating powers, but true to
name. The old-fashioned way was for
each grower to save his own s-ed, but
in many of our principal crops it is
found that the seeds grown in certain lo
calities produce heavier yields, and while
if the planting is done a little out of the
original habitat of the plant the first
Courtesy A. J. rioters, Department of Agriculture,
crop may not appreciably deteriorate the
of plant. So that seeds, as they are Rocky Ford seed. At the end of the second year, the crop from that seed
handled by the big seedsmen, are gath cantaloupe season various individuals will show a marked falling off in yield.
ered in by them from all parts of the could be seen going over the Rocky It is for this reason that some of the
country from Maine to California. In Ford cantaloupe patches and disem wisest farmers and planters send regu
the latter state some of the vastest seed boweling immature and frosted canta larly considerable distances for seed.
Selds of the world are found, where the loupes for their seed. This seed, it is The seed catalogues always carry a
eye ranges over unbroken rows, miles in true, was genuine Rocky Ford canta number of pages of novelties and new
extent, at least as far as the eye can loupe seed, and it would probably ger varieties which are described in an ex
reach. If all this industry should cease minate 95 or 98 per cent., but it is ob tremely attractive form. It is well
for a year and the farmer and gardener vious, its sale as first-class seed was an enough to try these novelties, but it is
became dependent for the succeeding imposition. Nevertheless thousands ofJ good advice to consider them as such
crop on the seeds which he would him packages were annually foisted upon I and have the main crop to fall back
self save during the year, the shrinkage seed buyers.
uiMin from the standard or well-tried
in production throughout the country
So if you are going to buy seed, and varieties which have stood the test of
would amount to tens of millions of buying seed to a greater or less extent years.
is advisable, not to say necessary, it
dollars.
An examination of many of the seeds
becomes a foregone conclusion that it of common vegetable and forage re
In the Olden Times.
pays
to
buy
good
seed
and
therefore
to
Of course, in the early days each
veals the fact that an immense amount
of poor seed is sold to American farm
farmer saved his own seed; possibly he know from whom you are buying.
The Government Seed Business.
ers and gardeners. Farmers as a rule
exchanged seeds with one or two neigh
The Agricultural Department is busier are responsible for this condition, since,
bors or friends. At that time there was
little competition iu farming, the produc than usual sending out millions of pack as has been said, many of them buy the
tion of the farm was used mainly for ages of free seeds for Congressmen. It cheapest seed in the market and trust
the support 0/ the family, and the arm#»nou ild be understood that this free seed entirely to luck for it to produce the en
supplied practically all the necessities distribution, while carried out by the tire crop. Such seed is dear at any
Secretary of Agriculture, is no scheme price, and is withal one of the principal
■n.l even the luxuries of life.
The earliest seed-farm in the United of his, but is a Congressional affair, pure source of the hosts of bad weeds which
States is believed to have been started and simple. Tn every session there is are to be seen upon many farms.
For the last few years there has been
by David I-andreth, the originator of one or more bills introduced abolishing
the present big seed house. This was what has been termed by more than one a constantly increasing outcry against
before the Revolutionary war. on a
»mall farm, now included in the city
of Philadelphia. It is estimated that
over 250.000 acres, including land in
probably every state in the Union, are
now devoted solely to growing 'red
crops, and some of the largest growers
plant annually as high as 2,000 acres.
The advantage of aecurfng good ger
minating seed I m manifest. Take for
instance clover seed which is sown on
wheat-stubble in the spring. It is al
ways possible to secure it at 50 cents or
(1 00 per bushel below the market price
quoted by the reputable seedsmen.
•What is tbe result of using such seed?
It must be considered a foregone con
clusion that such seed is poor, worth
even less than the reduced price at
which it 1» offered. The land has been
prepared for pasture or hay, some of the
fertilizer used on the wheat crop still
remaining in the soil for the use of the
elover and timothy, and the grass and
elover seed is sown to become the de
pendence of the farmer for his hay
crop. He buy« cheap seed: 30. 40, 50
or 60 per cent of it is an adulteration
of seed which has been kill«! or is old,
dead or weak clover seed. The re
mainder is good, fresh seed. If he buys
this seed, likely putting off purchase
until the eleventh hour, and uses it
without testing its germinating qual
ities. he may be lucky if he gets half a
aland. In other words, half his land
<U»trtbuUo«. ’• “»k» >h« knowing llbenl
K. Every Empty Envelope
plants as may be of real value to the
farmer in a Congressional district, new
and improved varieties, even though
only one package could be sent out
where now a score or two are sent, the
expenditure would be defensible. This
4! Field of Seed
would be building up our agriculture,
Lettuce.
and there would be cases where the
entire agricultural output would be
Parsnip Growing changed, greatly to the advantage of
For Seed.
the farm. The Secretary is, in fact,
California Scenes. employing this idea, as far as he is left
any discretion in the matter of seed
distribution. He is allowed by Congress
a small appropriation of this free seed
money, and where his explorers in the
old countries of the world have brought
in new plants and seeds which it is be
lieved will be an improvement on those
already grown by American farmers, he
sends these out in sufficient amount to
admit of a rational test by a farmer.
Get Good Clover Seed.
IhU cxtxl.gue 111« !•»<•“
To
I
HOW TO MAKE SCHOOL GARDENS.
By H. D. Hemenway.
This suggestive little book is a practical manual of school gardening for boll
teacher and pupil, and supplies the first adequate work of the sort in this couatq.l
This volume is based on actual experience (the author is an authority and direct»]
of the Hartford School of Horticulture).
I
CONTENTS : Introduction; How to Make a Garden; Twenty-One Less«
in Garden Work—May to September; Bibliography; Lessons in Greenhouse Wall
Planting Seed, Potting, etc.; Root Grafting; Lessons in Budding.
Size, 5x7; pages, 107; binding, cloth; illustrations, 28.
By special arrangement with Doubleday, Page & Co., I am able for the pres«
to make tbe following
SPECIAL OFFER.
A HUNDRED ACRE RADISH FIELD
these growths are recorded in a book
and kept for ready reference in the
event of complaints. The busiest times
in the American seed warehouse is from
November to March, and often April,
when enormous quantities of seeds and
bulbs pass through the buildings first in
large sacks and later in smaller pack
ages by mail and express on their way
to the progressive American agricul
turist.
Preserving Strict Silence.
In Korea the women, on their wed
ding day, will not open their mouths
to peak, no matter what the tempta
tion or provocation.
Sometimes this silence is continued
through the first week of married life.
Although no such custom exists in
the Western world, extraordinary cases
ara not wanting. In the early forties
'
a New York lady undertook, for a
wager of »150, to remain mute during
the month ot her married life.
Her new-made h-sband, who, natur
ally, was not in the secret, was so much
incensed at his bride's behavior, that
he left her before her tasK was com
pleted, only to return later when ap
prised of the real reason for this un
natural silence.
On one anniversary of their wedding
day a Brussels couple quarrelled so
bitterly that the wife, in a passion,
vowefl that her husband should never
again hear the sound of her voice. She
would there and then have left the I
house, but her now penitent husband |
implored her not to desert him. To
that extent only did his entreaties pre
vail, for she kept the letter of her oath |
and never in her spouse’s presence
did she unloose her tongue.
An Austrian woman, whose husband
was in hiding from the authorities. In
advertently betrayed his whereabouts
to a neighbor, who was secretly in the
pay of the police. As a result, he was !
taken, and received a term of imprison
ment.
So much did his wife take to heart
this misfortune, which had been
brought about by her gossip, that she
resolved for the remainder of her life
to remain mute. She would not make
an exception even in her husband’s
favor, for, although she received him
on his release with the utmost affec
tion. she maintained an obdurate
silence till her death, three years later.
the seed» sold by unscrupulous dealers
Cordial Foreign Relations.
and with it a demand for legislation. Mrs. O’Riley—And are yez on spakin'
Congress and a few states have passed
terms wld Mrs. Zylonski.
laws regulating the trade in needs. The Mrs.
Murphy—Av course I am She
Secretary of Agriculture under an Act|
called me a thafe an’ I told her aha
of Congress has authority to, and docs.
waa another.
The new Garden Magarino, 6 months, and How to Make School
Gardens, fl.00 edition, postpaid, both for $1.00. . ............................
The GARDEN MAGAZINE is finely illustrated, and is the finest magaiinsti
its kind published iu America. To take advantage of this special offer, ork«
should be sent at once to H. D. Hemenway, Hartford, Connecticut.
Thia offer may be withdrawn at any time.
How to Build a Home
How to Make a Garden Around It
How to Live In It
How to Entertain In It
How to Enjoy Life In It
Some
of the regular departments of the magazine are
Music in the Home
Hints to Homemaker»
Health in the Home
Home Etiquette
Little Folks in the Home Home Cheer
Entertaining in the Home
AND BEMEMBER
It isn’t made with a scissors and a paste pot. There's good “grey matter"
goes into every page of it. There’s human sympathy in every line of it, There •
originality and genuine good hard common sense all through it. It don't under
ta^s to tell you how to bo happy on a million a year, but it does tell you I*0*
to be happy on the modest income that so many millions live on wbo dofl
have a million a year to spend. And the magazine costs
And it’» worth ten dollar» for its good snggeations about life and health an*1
homemaking.
Send your dime or five two-cent stamps to
MAXWELL’S HOMEMAKER MAGAZINE^
1409 Fisher Building, CHICAGO.