ft 



April, 1910 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



97 



I 



Use Best Seed for Gardening 



A. V. Main, Almonte, Ont. 



Do you want to have a good garden this 

 summer, a better one than last year? If 

 so, in the first place, procure good, reliable 

 seed from a reliable source. Where can such 

 seeds be purchased? I have sown seed from 

 all the noted firms in Great Britain where 

 they specialize and have extensive trial 

 grounds. Yet, I have had failures with seed 

 not germinating. 



You can't condemn a seed firm if some 

 packet has given a poor percentage. Much 

 depends on the treatment, temperature 

 moisture and depth of sowing for success 

 with seeds. The individual or grower is 

 largely in control of the seed proving good 

 or bad. Because your neighbor has a better 

 tomato crop than you have, the blame is 

 laid on the seed, although it may be the 

 same seed. 



A firm that wilfully sells useless seed can 

 never survive long. One fault is that too 

 many dabble with seeds. In small towns, 

 you find seeds displayed in almost every 

 store. It is surprising that reputable seed 

 houses that supply these off-shoots, as it 

 were, do not have a better system. One 

 agent in small towns and villages is surely 

 representative enough for one firm. 



I have found Canadian seed firms to fur- 

 nish seed equal in quality and high per- 

 centage of germination to any house of fame 

 in Great Britain. A large quantity doubt- 

 less comes from there and other countries. 

 However, the seedsmen in the Dominion 

 have the right article in .stock and it is 

 adaptable to the climate. I have experi- 

 mented with several vegetable strains from 

 ithe Old Land, but find them entirely second- 

 ry to Canadian sorts. 



In Canada we should have great trial 



grounds and produce more of our own seed. 

 There is no gainsaying the fact but that 

 seed matured, harvested and carefully sel- 

 ected in this country would naturally be 

 better acclimated than the foreign product. 

 Nevertheless, we are more or less dependent 

 on our neighbors for supplying our wants 

 in this particular line as well as in many 

 others. Farmers and gardeners that read 

 The Canadian Hobticxjltxjrist should send 

 direct to those seedsmen that use the col- 

 umns of this paper as their advertising med- 

 ium. It is just as economical and more 

 profitable than local purchases. , 



Leading seed firms test all their seeds 

 before sending them to their customers. A 

 sample of each sort is sown in pots or 

 boxes in their glass houses. If it fails 

 to give a satisfactory germination, it is not 

 put on the market ; thus, the customer can- 

 not find fault with the purity of the seed. 

 We should give our support to the Dominion 

 seedsmen, and they should be encouraged 

 to give more attention to the extending 

 of trial giounds, hybridizing and the sel- 

 ection of adaptable varieties suitable for 

 the different parts of the land. 



Gardeners themselves ought to experiment 

 more and find the strains that give the best 

 /esults in their own locality. The garden 

 is too often subjected to random treatment ; 

 likewise, many orchards and farms. It is 

 being felt more keenly every year that a 

 random, haphazard, careless management of 

 crops is ruinous and detrimental and cannot 

 stand the rivalry of up-to-date methods. 



"The Man With The Hne," is the name 

 of an interesting little booklet prepared by 

 the Bateman Mfg. Co., makers of the Iron 

 Age Tools. Free copies may be had by writ- 

 ing to the above company at Box .516G 

 Grenloch, N.J., and mentioning this paper. 



Horticulture in Labrador 



Last year an attempt was made to grow 

 vegetable and flower seeds in the Canadian 

 Labrador and success attended the effort. 

 In a letter to a lady in London, Ont., a 

 year ago last spring, Miss Edith Mayou, 

 Superintendent of the Harrington Hospital 

 in the Canadian Labrador, stated that the 

 dietary of the fisherfolk might be improved 

 by growing vegetables for food. The sug- 

 gestion was referred to Mr. Emery B. 

 Hamilton, London, Ont., an expert in re- 

 gard to seeds, etc., and was taken up en- 

 thusiastically by him. Previous efforts to 

 grow satisfactory vegetables had failed in 

 the Canadian Labrador, but his selection of 

 the hardiest early varieties which were sent 

 by the last boat last year, brought forth 

 most satsfactory returns. Only some $30 

 contributed by sympathizers who were will- 

 ing to expend the amount on an experi- 

 ment that did not seem to be promising, 

 were at the disposal of those in charge. 

 The entire amount was used for seeds, leav- 

 ing no surplus for tcols. Only crudest tools 

 were used by the inhabitants of the barren 

 coast who made rakes by driving long nails 

 through a bar of wood and manufactured 

 watering-cms by punchng holes in tomato 

 cans. Those who had the ambition to make 

 the effort were well rewarded. 



Last fall a horticultural exhibition was 

 held and tools necessary for gardening dis- 

 tributed for prizes. The exhibition was a 

 success. The work will be extended. As it 

 is supported entirely by subscription and 

 being in connection with the great mission 

 of which Dr. Wilfred T. Grenfell is the 

 head, contributions will be gratefully re- 

 ceived. Address, Mr. Emery B. Hamilton, 

 chairman, Canadian Labrador Horticul- 

 tural Mission, 546 AVellington St., London. 



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CANADIAN 

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