No. 4.] GARDEN SEEDS. 61 



way I find some of the types vary a great deal; and I have 

 come to the conclusion, in reference to that, that it is hest to 

 buy one particular kind of seed from one particular seeds- 

 man. Take squash seed ; I have had some experience in buy- 

 ing of different seedsmen, and I have come to the conclusion 

 that some seedsmen have better squash seed than others, — 

 their seed is cleaner. 



Question. Can you tell us how to avoid the bean weevil ? 



Mr. Tracy. The seedsmen rarely depend on a location as 

 far south as Ohio for a crop of beans, because of their being 

 subject to the bean weevil. The beans grown further north 

 are practically exempt. The only way that I know of to 

 prevent them, if you want to raise beans in a section which 

 is infested with the bean weevil, as nearly all sections as far 

 south as Ohio are, is merely in saving seed to put them in 

 a closed receptacle and add some bi-carbonate of soda, which 

 will destroy the weevil in the beans, and after a week or two 

 I would give them another dose to destroy those that have 

 hatched out, and keep them in a closed receptacle or dish. 

 It is not the same weevil that attacks the pea, and the bean 

 weevil lives over and propagates in the dry seed, whereas 

 the pea weevil has to be propagated when the pods are in a 

 growing condition. 



Mr. Lewis. Do you think farmers have proper protection 

 in buying seed from the different seedsmen % We have trou- 

 ble a great many times with seed not germinating. Seed we 

 buy for last year's seed I think a great many times is older 

 seed. 



Mr. Tracy. I will simply say that I think it is very de- 

 sirable for people to test their seed before planting it, but 

 the testing of seed as to vitality even is not the simple thing 

 that it has sometimes been represented to be. Very often 

 people making a test of seed for vitality will get a misleading 

 result. The lettuce seed, for instance, is very susceptible to 

 too deep planting or to too much moisture, and two lots of 

 seed planted side by side, one in normal conditions and the 

 other in a little excessively dry conditions, one will seem to 

 be in a good deal better vitality than the other, whereas the 

 vitality, provided you have the suitable conditions, is about 



