THE YOUNG FARMERS MANUAL. 219 



inferior quality of seed by its weight. Poor seed is usually 

 rather light, and feels dry to the touch, while good, plump, bright 

 and heavy seed seems to be colder, when handled, than it really is. 

 Let all seed that is more than one year old be rejected, and none 

 but new seed sown. Bear in mind, that as seed advances in age 

 it looses its vitality. Seed is many times injured, and often the 

 vitality is entirely destroyed, in preparing it for use. The pulpy 

 matter which encircles the seed is usually removed by placing 

 them where they will rot gradually, and afterwards washing the 

 pulpy substance from the seed, and then by spreading out the 

 seed where they will dry. But they should not be allowed to 

 become too dry, as that will injure the germ. If they are per 

 mitted to lie, while rotting, in piles so large or deep that they 

 will heat and mould, the germs of such seed will be liable to be 

 destroyed. I must be allowed to insist that it is important that 

 every farmer grow his own quicks, on soil of about the same 

 quality of that where the hedge is to stand. (See Par. 264.) 



296. When the quicks are cut off in autumn it would be 

 a good practice to have a vessel of equal parts of melted pitch or 

 rosin, and tallow, and smear the ends with it, applied with a paint 

 brush. The most expeditious mode of doing it would be, to hold 

 as many in one hand as is convenient, and then apply the brush. 

 Even after the quicks have been transplanted, a man with a small 

 brush would smear the ends of a long row in a few hours. It 

 would not be practicable to perform such an operation after the 

 first shearing, or cutting down, on account of the great number 

 of stubs, although such an application will be found very useful 

 in preventing the stumps from drying and cracking, to the injury 

 of the quicks. Any instrument, in pruning, shearing, or slashing, 

 which cuts the stems square off, with a crushing instead of a 

 drawing stroke or cut, is quite apt to shiver the butts or stumps 

 of the quicks, so that they will not heal as readily as if they had 

 been cut with a slanting and drawing cut. (See Par. 543.) 



297. On the subject of pruning, too much care cannot be taken, 

 for rules and practices which would be all-important for raising 

 an efficient hedge in one locality, would be very deleterious to a 



