28 



(5) Small cuttiugs reqniio, soil that is more highly euricheil autl thoroughly pre- 

 pared than large cnttiiigs and whole potatoes, in order to secure a good staud and to 

 ])rodnce a profitable crop. 



(()) The (j^uestion of relative profit, as between the use of small cnttings and whole 

 potatoes, depends upon the cost of seed i)otatoes, the date at whicli theTrop is to be 

 harvested and sold, and the condition of the soil at planting time. 



(7) In ordinary practice it will usually be ibuud that neither extreme, as to quau- 

 tity of seed used, will bo found to be pi'oli table. The safest plan ia to use large, vvell- 

 matured, healthy potatoes, and cut to two and three eyes'. 



Pennsylvania Station, Bulletin No. 10, January, 1890 (pp. 31). 



Should farmers raise their own vegetable seeds ? G. C. 

 BuTZ, M. S. (pp. 3-S).— In Bulletin No. 4 of this station were published 

 the results of tests of vegetable seeds from various seedsmen, which in- 

 dicated that such seeds, as found in the country stores of Pennsylvania,' 

 are, as a rule, pure and good. In 1889 the station instituted trials to 

 get light on the following question: '• Are seeds which have matured 

 under high cultivation (as on our best seed farms) better for our less 

 enriched farm soils than seeds which have matured in poorer soil ? " 



This is a question of considerable importance, and one to which attention is fre- 

 quently directed by the agricultural journals. * * * Cultivated vegetables, as a 

 rule, are further removed from their original or " wild" forms by the natural develop- 

 ment due to high culture than are the cereals and other ordinai'y farm crops. 

 Therefore, the conditions of soil and cultivation under which vegetables are grown 

 have much to do in fixing the value of the seeds maturing on these plants. We have 

 only to compare the wild carrot of our fields with the cultivated form of the garden 

 to note the change which has been wrought by cultivation. The former is an annual, 

 with a slender root, toughened by much woody fiber; the latter is a biennial, with a 

 fleehy, tender root. It has often been observed, too, that reversions are common 

 among carrots growing in poor soil. These and similar facts concerning other vege- 

 tables should not be ignored in considering this question. "» * * 



The conditions at the station were very favorable to the work, and last year seeds 

 were gathered from the best of those vegetables that seeded. The ground in which 

 they grew is not a rich garden soil, but only an ordinary farm soil. These seeds 

 wore planted this year along with seeds of the same varieties from well-known seed 

 houses. 



The results as regards earliness, productiveness, vigor, aud quality of 

 the products are recorded in tables in wliicli comparative data are given 

 for the seeds grown at the station aud those purchased from seedsman. 

 Nine varieties of beans, 10 of lettuce, 8 of peas, 11 of radishes, and 6 of 

 tomatoes were included in the tests, which will be continued. 



The results thus far obtained may be summarized as follows : (1) The 

 station seeds were, as a rule, heavier than the purchased seeds, but the 

 weight was uo indication of their germiuative value. (2) The greater 

 yields, with but few exceptions, were obtained from purchased seeds. 

 (3) Lettuce from purchased seed produced heads that did not " shoot 

 up " to flower as early as the plants from station seed. (4) Radishes 

 from purchased seeds were larger, more tender, and more uniform than 

 those from station seeds. (5) On the whole the results are strongly in 

 favor of seeds from good soil, however rich that may be. 



