516 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



when the largest portion of the best seed is ripened. In harvesting, care will be necessary 

 in handling certain varieties, to prevent shelling out and loss. After gathering, it should, as 

 a general rule, be well dried before shelling; this is usually done in a cool, dry, airy room. 

 In shelling, the most perfectly developed seed from the most vigorous and productive plants 

 only should be saved for planting. Partially ripened or imperfect seed may germinate, but 

 it will invariably produce inferior plants. All seed should be thoroughly dried before being 

 stored ; otherwise it will be liable to mould, and its quality be greatly impaired or rendered 

 entirely worthless. In storing, a perfectly dry place should be selected. If allowed to gather 

 dampness while being stored, even though perfectly cured, its vitality will be ruined. Oc 

 casional dampness and drying are equally injurious. It should also never be exposed to 

 extreme heat, or greatly varying degrees of heat and cold, but will best be preserved by 

 being kept perfectly dry, and at a uniformly cool temperature. 



Qualities Desirable in Seed. In order to attain the most satisfactory results, the 

 seed which is to produce the crop should possess certain essential qualities. These are 

 vitality, vigor, and productiveness. In order to possess vitality, the seed should be grown 

 from vigorous, healthy plants, and properly matured before being harvested. It is equally 

 essential that it be well dried and protected, in storing, from dampness and other adverse 

 influences. It is also very essential that it be fresh. The length of time that seed will 

 retain its vitality varies with different varieties, but, as a general rule, most seed will deteri 

 orate after the first year, some kinds, such as onion seed, and some of the varieties of grasses, 

 being almost worthless if kept over to the second or third year. The seed of melons, 

 cucumbers, wheat, corn, etc., will usually retain their vitality for several years; but although 

 such old seed may be made to germinate and grow, fresh seed of any kind is always the best, 

 and possesses the greatest amount of vitality and vigor. It is always well to test seed before 

 planting, by planting a small quantity or otherwise germinating it, the length of time required 

 to produce germination being a good test of its vitality and vigor. 



Seed that will produce a vigorous growth is also highly essential. Some seed may have 

 sufficient vitality to germinate, but not sufficient to produce vigorous, healthy plants. Pro 

 ductiveness in a plant is also as fully essential as vigor, and these qualities should always be 

 combined in the plant that is to be instrumental in perpetuating its kind. There are some 

 plants that in certain soils will grow rank and thrifty, but yield little else than stalks, or vines, 

 and foliage. Seed from such growths will never give good results. It is only the vigorous, 

 and at the same time the most productive plants which will produce a satisfactory crop. In 

 using old seed, many will fail to germinate at all, but such as do germinate will produce 

 plants having less vitality than those from the new, consequently are liable to be feeble and 

 less productive, and their use will be attended with serious loss to the farmer. For all crops, 

 without exception, whether for the farm or garden, we would recommend the planting of 

 fresh seed of the purest and best quality. 



TIMBER CULTURE. 



THE preservation and extension of our forests is a subject of vast importance to the 

 interests of the country. The great value of timber for the various purposes to which 

 its use is applied for many of which no substitute could be found and the yearly 

 diminishing of the timber resources of our continent, are the cause of grave apprehensions 

 among the leading minds of the present age, lest the needless and reckless waste that has so 

 rapidly increased the scarcity of timber within the past few years, will cause the utter ruin 



