284 AGRICULTURE OF MAINE. 



should be interested through the teacher to have Httle plots of 

 land and grow corn or some other crop, and watch its growth. 

 The father should give the boy time to take care of it and let 

 him have what he can get out of his plot of land, and so in- 

 crease from year to year. 



Another point I would make is that the members of the asso- 

 ciation should specialize upon one or two crops — not more than 

 two at the outside — and breed up something that is excellent. 

 And if we are general farmers, as I believe most of us are, not 

 making a specialty of any one crop, we can purchase of some 

 members of the association some of their superior strains of 

 seed that we need to carry on our general farming. I would 

 also make this suggestion — that the association should appear 

 before the Legislature this wdnter and have the law amended 

 so that all seeds brought into this State and all seeds grown in 

 the State and offered for sale should be guaranteed as to vital- 

 ity. We have a guaranty now as to purity and we need one 

 regarding vitality. For instance, take the grass seed. In a 

 great many instances 25 per cent of the grass seed that is bought 

 from local dealers does not come. I am going to say that in 

 some instances the proportion is greater than that. And what 

 is true of grass seed is undoubtedly true of many other seeds. 

 The association has not as yet taken up anything upon the line 

 of the production of garden seeds, such as cucumbers and pole 

 beans, but I believe there is a great opportunity in that line. 

 We buy a little package of cucumber seeds, and pay four or 

 five cents. There is an opportunity for the farmer to raise 

 the seed that is necessary to make a nice little fortune out of 

 a small piece of land, by raising cucumber seeds true to name 

 and guaranteed as to their vitality. 



Undoubtedly the association will take up sooner or later, 

 when we have acquired seed ready for sale, the idea of having 

 seed centers where our seeds may be all put together and there 

 offered for sale. Probably that is not possible at the present 

 time but it will be later, and in connection with this I am inclined 

 to believe that the farmers should have a uniform price on the 

 different kinds of seed. 



There is one trouble with the farmers of Maine. They have 

 always told openly what it cost them to produce their farm 

 products. The manufacturer does not tell you how much it 



