No. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICUL.TPRE. 575 



With this plan, peas are also drilled between the strawberries. Most 

 of the produce from the Roberts' farms is hauled on wagons eleven 

 miles to the Philadelphia market. 



I wish to mention in this group of truckers, Mr. C. 0. Hulsart, 

 Matawan, N. J. Mr. Hulsart is one of the prominent Grange farm- 

 ers of New Jersey, and the most striking thing in his farming is 

 that he is an enthusiast on growing practically all the seed used on 

 his farm. He exercises the greatest care in selecting seed of as- 

 paragus, tomatoes, peppers, sweet corn and other vegetables which 

 are being grown for the New York market. He believes that a gar- 

 dener cannot afford to take chances buying from seedmen who find 

 it impossible to exercise a close supervision over much of the seed 

 offered to the trade. Growing your own vegetable seed is a com- 

 mendable practice, provided it is done with care and intelligence. 

 During the past year, I have met quite a large number of growers 

 who have secured by careful selection some fine strains of vege- 

 tables. Many of the vegetables placed on the market as novelties 

 have had their origin on farms of progressive market gardeners. 

 Examples are Earliana tomatoes, Jenny Lind muskmelons and 

 Roberts' watermelons. These two melons originated on the farm 

 of Horace Roberts. Many truckers and market gardeners in Mary- 

 land find it desirable to save their own seeds. This work has been 

 conducted to such an extent in some sections that special trains 

 have been developed that are used almost entirely in such localities. 

 It is not possible for the gardener producing a great variety of 

 crops to grow all of his own seeds, especially if he is giving atten- 

 tion to vegetables which require certain soil and climatic conditions 

 for the production of the best seed. For example, it seems to be 

 difficult to grow good celery seed in the eastern part of the United 

 States. The most of the seed of the self-blanching varieties comes 

 from France, while seed of late varieties, such as Golden Queen and 

 Giant Pascal, are mostly grown in California. 



One of the most successful and progressive market gardeners in 

 Pennsylvania is M. Garrahan, Luzerne county. He has two sons, 

 R. H. and Ernest, who are just as enthusiastic in their work as 

 their father. A careful study of their business shows that their 

 success is due largely to two factors. First, the use of the best seed 

 that can be procured, and second, the most liberal use of commer- 

 cial fertilizers and stable manure. Mr. M. Garrahan has been a very 

 careful breeder of vegetable seeds for many years and he has de- 

 veloped a type of Wakefield cabbage which some consider superior 

 to better known strains of this variety. All kinds of seeds which 

 may be grown successfully with existing conditions are produced 

 on the Garrahan farms. There is no stinting on this farm in the 

 use of manure and commercial fertilizer. Manure of the highest 

 quality, containing practically no litter, is secured from the stables 

 in the hard coal mines, and this fine manure is especially good for 

 greenhouse crops and vegetables grown in the open ground which 

 require manure that is free from coarse litter. It is not an un- 

 usual thing for these gardeners to apply twenty-five to forty loads 

 of manure per acre. Commercial fertilizer, home mixed, of the high- 

 est grade is used most freely. From one or two tons per acre is 

 considered about the right amount on this farm for most crops. An 



