The Busy Woman s Garden Book 



being soaked over night in warm water, and many 

 seeds that require considerable time to start are 

 hastened if warm water be poured into the 

 trenches before the soil is filled in; this is espe- 

 cially beneficial in very dry soil where germina- 

 tion might otherwise be delayed until after a rain. 

 It is not necessary that new seed be purchased 

 every spring; if one has seed of his own saving 

 so that its age is known one can use it with con- 

 fidence. Seed purchased of the seedsman is more 

 or less problematical, but is usually supposed to 

 be of the previous season's crop, especially is this 

 true of those seedsmen who produce their own 

 seed on farms located in different sections of the 

 country, and whose seeds are usually very reli- 

 able. However there are many seedsmen, or 

 jobbers, who purchase the bulk of their seeds in 

 the open market and cannot guarantee the qual- 

 ity in any way. It is always a great mistake 

 to purchase cheap seed ; it is better to buy seed of 

 a reputable seedsman who puts his name and rep- 

 utation back of it, though the price may be consid- 



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