GROWING SEEDS FOR THE MARKET. 177 



Of celery, the finest varieties are grown iu this country in the 

 vicinity of our laroe cities. Of cucumbers, but a few, and those 

 of the fancy frame sorts, are imported. Of peas, the hard sorts 

 are home-grown, and most of what are called the softer, or 

 wrinkled, varieties. Of turnip seed, the early varieties are largely- 

 home-grown. Of cabbage seed, but few varieties are imported, 

 and these are confined almost wholly to a few early sorts. Onion 

 seed, with the exception of the Italian varieties, is almost wholly 

 an American crop. 



The trouble about foreigu cabbage seed is, that the Drumhead 

 varieties which we cultivate in this country for the table, abroad 

 are merely grown for the consumption of animals, and the seed is 

 very generally raised from the stump. They grow them for 

 massiveuess, not hardness. Being only fed to stock, they are 

 not classed with table vegetables ; whereas here we grow them for 

 home consumption by the people, and aim to secure hard, solid 

 heads. The English-grown drumhead seed is, therefore, miserable 

 stuff, and hence it is not imported — certainly not by any seedsmen 

 who have any care for their reputation. An English seedsman 

 laughed at my folly when I told him I raised cabbage seed from 

 the head. ''Why," said he, "what a waste! we feed the heads 

 and raise seed from the stumps." 



The foreign sources of seed are Canada, England, France and 

 Germany. The importations from Canada are confined to peas. 

 Peas grown in many parts of the country are very apt to be buggy ; 

 the preventive, as far as there is one, being to plant where the 

 intruder has not yet made his appearance, or so late that when the 

 pea blossoms his depredations will be past. Within a few 

 years a volatile compound, bisulphide of carbon, yielding a suffo- 

 cating stench, has been applied. This, used in small quantities 

 in some air-tight receptacle, among peas containing embryo wee- 

 vils, destroys them before they begin their mischievous work. 

 Other reasons why peas thrive especiaMy well in Canada are found 

 iu the cooler climate, which is more natural to the vegetable, and 

 in the cool, strong, clay soil, to which it appears to be especially 

 adapted. 



From England we obtain most of our mangel-wurzel seed, some 



of our early cabbage seed, some varieties of carrot, celery, frame 



varieties of cucumber, leek, kohl-rabi, parsle}^ peas, radish, and 



turnip, and a portion of our flower seed. One reason of this is, 



12 



