326 



110 HTICU LTUliE 



April 5, 1919 



ADAPTATION OF VEGETABLE3. 



A lecture delivered by Dr. Will W. Tracj 

 .if the Bureau of Plant Industry, Depart- 

 ment '•( Agriculture, b'efore the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society. 



"My study and work of over fifty 

 years have been devoted to seed 

 breeding and growing, and I have 

 carefully examined and watched the 

 growth of thousands of samples of va- 

 rieties of vegetables and flowers 

 grown from the same original stock, 

 but under differing climatic and soil 

 conditions, and selected by different 

 people; and I have inspected hundreds 

 of crops grown from seed in different 

 locations from Maine to California and 

 thus have had abundant opportunity to 

 notice differences in strains grown in 

 this country or Europe from the same 

 original stock, but under different con- 

 ditions of soil and climate, which had 

 resulted In the development, without 

 crossing or even careful selection, but 

 simply as the result of differing soil 

 and climatic conditions, of very dis- 

 tinct strains, each adapted to certain 

 cultural conditions or consumers' re- 

 quirements and often as well worthy 

 of being distinguished by distinct va- 

 rietal name as those already found In 

 seedsmen's catalogues. 



"Through this experience It has be- 

 come the conviction of my later years 

 that every individual seed carries the 

 same sort of potentiality and limita- 

 tion of development as an egg or a 

 new born rabbit. When we hatch the 

 hen's egg under a duck the chick will 

 not take to the water though the duck 

 and rest of the brood do so and leave 

 it alone on the shore. Nor can we, by 

 putting a still blind young rabbit to 

 nurse with the litter of pups, teach it 

 to bark. 



"Every seed Is made up of a certain 

 balanced sum of ancestral influences 

 and fixed in character beyond the pos- 

 sibility of change by growth condi- 

 tions, before it left the parent plant. 

 There are often distinct differences in 

 the varietal character of seeds from 

 individual plants of the same breed- 

 ing as well as in the yield of 

 seeds in different locations. Although 

 the varietal character of every seed Is 

 fixed at its maturity, it is sometimes 

 modified by climatic and other condi- 

 tions while developing, and in some 

 cases such modifications are transmit- 

 ted to succeeding generations, so it is 

 sometimes the case that local-grown 

 seed will give a different return from 

 that matured under other conditions, 

 and not Infrequently seed grown In 

 one's own garden will give better re- 

 turns than that grown elsewhere. 



"The social conditions and ways of 

 modern life have changed the general 

 alms and practice of seed growing. 



Formerly the housewife looked each 

 morning to her garden or called upon 

 some nearby market gardener for her 

 daily supply of vegetables, and table 

 quality was of greater importance than 

 appearance. Now, the cook orders 

 what she may need from the gardener, 

 or the market, and low cost and ap- 

 pearance are of the greatest Import- 

 ance. Then, the greatest interest was 

 taken in the saving of seed from the 

 best plants and the development or 

 possession of a superior strain was a 

 matter of family pride. Many of the 

 best strains had been in the possession 

 of certain families for many years. 

 Now, both home and market gardeners 

 look to the seedsmen for their supply 

 and yield and shipping quality, and 

 last, but by no means least, the price 

 at which it is offered, determines the 

 stock used. 



"Different species and varieties, and 

 even individuals of both animals and 

 plants, differ greatly in the extent to 

 which variety of form or habit of 

 growth occurs naturally or can be se- 

 cured by cultivation and breeding. Se- 

 lection and breeding have given us 

 less than a dozen but slightly different 

 varieties of parsnip compared with 

 scores of distinct sorts of carrots and 

 beets, differing In size, form, color and 

 adaptation to certain uses. 



"Although the varietal character of 

 a seed is fixed at maturity, its develop- 

 ment may In some cases be modified 

 by the climatic and other conditions 

 In which It was matured, and it Is of- 

 ten possible to secure local-grown 

 strains of seed which will give better 

 returns when planted In that vicinity 

 than can be secured from stock equal- 

 ly well grown elsewhere. I think the 

 greatest possible betterment In vege- 

 table growing is through its greater 

 varietal uniformity and adaptation to 

 local conditions. I have been im- 

 pressed with the uniformity of varietal 

 character seen In some of the houses 

 of lettuce in this vicinity, and have 

 been told that they were from home- 

 grown and selected stock seed, and I 

 believe that was the most Important 

 feature of their success. 



"Again, I think I can say, without 

 exaggeration, that In the aggregate, 

 though varying somewhat in different 

 vegetables, fully ten per cent, of the 

 very best and most useful varieties I 

 have ever known have never come 

 into general use, or have disappeared 

 and are no longer obtainable because, 

 though heavy producers of market 

 products or of superior quality, they 

 were such poor seeders that seed could 

 not be profitable handled by the seeds- 

 men at the prices paid for most sorts. 

 We think that the demand of gar- 



deners for uniform prices for standard 

 varieties, with cut rates in years ot 

 over production, is one of the most 

 unfortunate conditions in the trade, 

 and we hope that the high prices 

 asked and paid last year for some 

 species may lead to a change In this 

 respect. 



"The home-growing and saving of 

 seed of garden vegetables is quite 

 practical and by no means as difficult 

 as is commonly supposed. The prin- 

 cipal requisite is a wise choice of su- 

 perlative plants and the thorough cur- 

 ing of the seed before storing. The 

 way to accomplish this varies In dif- 

 ferent species. With peas and beans, 

 selected plants should remain In place 

 as long as possible without serious loss 

 from shattering, then, while still damp 

 from dew, should be gathered and 

 stored where there is good circulation 

 or air until the seed Is perfectly dry. 

 when it may be thrashed out and 

 stored in muslin bags. 



"In saving seed of sweet corn, as 

 early as the probable character of the 

 grain can be determined, strip down 

 the husks on one side sufficiently to 

 enable you to make a selection; turn 

 back the husks and hold them in place 

 by a rubber band. Mark the selected 

 ears by covering them with a paper 

 bag which will also save them from 

 the sparrows. Allow the plants to 

 stand in place until there is danger of 

 a killing frost, then cut the stalks, 

 store under shelter until thoroughly 

 dry and save either on the ear or 

 shelled, In paper bags. 



"In saving seed of tomato, pepper, 

 eggplant, cucumber, melon and squash, 

 selected fruit should be left on the 

 vine without their becoming so soft as 

 to be disagreeable to handle, or being 

 exposed to even a light frost. Then 

 opened, the seed scraped out with as 

 little of the pulp as possible and al- 

 lowed to sour and ferment from one 

 to four days, when the seed should be 

 washed, using plenty of water and re- 

 peatedly pouring it off until seed Is 

 perfectly clean, when it should be 

 spread out not over two grains deep 

 until perfectly dry, when It may be 

 stored in muslin bags and kept in an 

 airy place. 



"Selected plants of lettuce should be 

 allowed to stand in place until there 

 Is danger of serious loss from shatter- 

 ing, then each plant covered with a 

 large inverted paper bag, the lower 

 end tied about the plant so as to save 

 the early matured seed which drops, 

 and allow to stand until most of the 

 seed is matured, when the plants, still 

 enclosed In the sacks, may be cut and 

 stored In any place until thoroughly 

 dry, when the seed may be winnowed 

 clean and stored." 



