406 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



a hot-bed over the outside patch and applying artificial heat. At Cor- 

 nell such a bed 60 by 40 feet will be forced next winter. The list of 

 vegetables suitable for forcing might be greatly extended. There is 

 every prospect that within the next ten years this business will be 

 wonderfully developed. That is why Prof. Bailey considers training 

 in greenhouse work so important. It will be made a special feature of 

 the horticultural course at Cornell. 



Saving Vegetable Seed. 



Vegetable seeds cannot be gathered at random and in a haphazard 

 way "and expect good results the next year. 



In saving seeds on the earliest, fairest and most perfect specimens 

 of each kind should be saved. This will give vegetables two or three 

 weeks earlier and of the finest quality. It is best to take precautions 

 in this matter early in the season, and then one can justly expect good 

 returns the next spring. 



Each kind of vegetable should be allowed to mature before gather- 

 ing. Melons should be allowed to ripen thoroughly before taken from 

 the vine, then the seeds may be taken directly from the fruit. Place 

 the seeds in water a day or two and the pulp will easily wash off. Dry 

 the seeds before storing them. 



Squashes should be gathered before they are nipped by frost, but 

 the seeds should not be removed for several weeks after taken from 

 the vine. Rats and mice are very fond of melon and squash seeds ; if 

 the seeds are not kept in a rat-proof receptacle, place a piece of cam- 

 phor gum in with the seeds. 



Leave the tomatoes and cucumbers on the vines until they are well 

 ripened ; then gather and place in the sun a day or two ; then mash them 

 into a pulp and put in an earthen dish of water. After two or three 

 days the pulp will all rise to the top leaving the seeds at the bottom. 

 Remove the seeds and spread on a cloth in the sun to dry. 



Save the best pods of beans and peas which mature first, and you 

 will have vigorous, prolific plants next year. A row of beans 70 feet 

 long will supply an average sized family, and it will require about one 

 pint of seed for this amount of space. One pint of peas will sow a 

 row 60 feet long. For family use, two rows each 60 feet long, an early 

 and a late variety, are about the right amount. 



When saving the seeds of beets, cabbage, turnips, etc., preserve 

 only those which grow on the leading stem. 



