No. 4.] GAKDEN SEEDS. 45 



Some of the evils of such a condition are evident, but there 

 are others which, though less obvious, are still more injuri- 

 ous. One of these is the want of uniformity of type com- 

 monly found in any given lot, as illustrated in the trial of 

 214 samples of garden beets already referred to. In more 

 than half of the samples the roots varied so much in form 

 and color that one could only guess at what type the lot was 

 supposed to be composed of; and there was not to exceed a 

 dozen samples in which there were not from 5 to 20 per cent 

 of the roots which were distinctly different in some respect 

 from the balance of the sample. One rarely sees a sample of 

 cabbage in which there are not from 10 to 20 per cent of the 

 plants which are materially different in form, color, earli- 

 ness or some other respect from the others ; and it is only in 

 exceptionally good lots that one can pick out as many as 20 

 per cent which could be said to be representative plants of 

 the sort. 



The use of seed which is uniformly of the type best suited 

 for that particular " culture " (using the term as is done in 

 Europe, to signify any particular field of vegetables grown 

 for some special purpose) is one of, if not the most, impor- 

 tant factors in determining the satisfaction and profit to be 

 derived from it ; and this is true even if a variation is in it- 

 self desirable. It may be a gratification to one's pride and 

 desirable for an exhibitor to grow a superlative individual 

 plant ; but a crop which is uniformly of a certain type and 

 quality is far more profitable than one in which a small pro- 

 portion is distinctly superior. If to a basket of tomatoes of 

 uniform type and size we add a few larger fruits of distinct 

 form and color, we will lessen instead of adding to the salable 

 value of the lot. 



In the case of early peas, a difference of a single day in the 

 time they become fit for market will often determine profit 

 or loss ; but if to a stock which will mature in forty days we 

 add 10 per cent of one which will mature in thirty-five, 

 though we have hastened the average date of maturity a day, 

 we have not added to the value of the stock; for, if we at- 

 tempt to pick this 10 per cent when they are in prime market 

 condition, the cost of doing so and injury to the rest of the 



