SEED. 



I. SELECTION OF SEED FOE PLANTING. That the 

 quality of the seed planted by the farmer has a mate- 

 rial influence on the quality and amount of the re- 

 sulting crop is a matter that every practical man well 

 understands. The importance, therefore, of giving 

 the most careful attention to the selection of the seed 

 is perfectly obvious. No man who neglects this essen- 

 tial point can place any reliance upon his crop. If 

 his seed-corn is not properly sorted out, he cannot be 

 certain of its kind, its value, or its results. If he does 

 not know what he plants, how can he be expected to 

 know what he is going to reap ? His crop will be a 

 lottery, with more blanks than prizes, and he can 

 form no reasonable calculation in regard to it, either 

 as to quality, certainty, or amount. 



On the other hand, the man who in due season 

 gives thoughtful heed to the selection of his seed, 

 spending an ungrudged hour in his cornfield at the 

 right time to secure the most perfect ears of grain, as 

 the germ of a future crop, will be morally certain of 

 at least a reasonable success. He has made a good 



