102 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



As an illustration of what good seeds do and ought to cost, it 

 may be stated that it required $3 worth of pansy seed at wholesale 

 prices, to produce blooms sufficient to make a creditable exhibition 

 and take the SI premium at the last fair held by this society. 



As a rule "store seeds" are unsafe to use, the temptation being 

 too great to " re-issue" old shopworn seeds that ought to be "can- 

 celtd" and burned. 



Again, handle with care the goods offered by those Barnums 

 among seedsmen, who advertise novelties for prices great or small, 

 which, judging from their descriptions, seem so perfectly suited to 

 act as advanc* agents of the millennium. 



While it may be desirable to have seeds of some species grown as 

 far north as practicable, as for instance peas and perhaps some 

 others which require only a short season for maturity, it is a posi- 

 tive injury to the value of most seeds to have them grown in high 

 latitude, even more than to have them grown very far south. The 

 reasons for this are that very many species, the plants and fruit of 

 which we can grow with perfect success, require a much lon«er 

 season than ours for the full maturity of their seeds. Please note 

 that I am talking for the State of Maine garden now. Most reliable 

 seedsmen grow a comparatively few specialties in seeds suitable to 

 their locality which they are careful to have of high grade and this 

 class of seeds should be sought after for they are never too dtar at 

 any price. Buyers should try to fathom the dark mysteries of the 

 catalogue if possible to decide what are the really valuable and 

 trustworthy stock of that particular seedsman. A necessary con- 

 clusion to be reached is that if many species or varieties of seeds 

 are to be used, more than one grower should be patronized. 



PLANTING. 



We next consider the subject of planting aud in this operation 

 the first thing to be called for is the seed box, and for this purpose 

 we have no use for birch barks, tin cans, or salt boxes. We prefer 

 seed boxes of half and quarter inch stuff, not less than 8x10 inches 

 and from that size up to 12x16 inches, and for most flower seeds 

 they should not be over two inches deep. For tomatoes and cab- 

 bages, a depth of three inches is desirable. Too much earth room 

 about seeds planted indoors is a fruitful source of trouble. Caution 

 against deep planting of small seeds has been too frequently 

 repeated to require more than an allusion here. The earth of the 



