6 SEED FOR PROPAGATION 



to home grown seed as there is ample proof that such can 

 be had just as good if not better than the imported. 



It seldom happens that the seed from the fruit of the 

 more improved varieties are suitable for propagation 

 work. They are usually low in vitality and often fail 

 to germinate altogether. The longer the varieties in ques- 

 tion have been known the less likely are the seed to be good. 

 It is not only necessary that the seed grow well, but also 

 that the resulting seedlings be strong, vigorous and free 

 from diseases. Varieties that have been propagated 

 vegetatively for a long period of years have gradually weak- 

 ened in their seed-producing power. It therefore follows 

 that the nearer one can get to the wild state in collecting 

 seed the better will be the results. 



The seed from the stone fruits (peach, plum, apricot, 

 cherry, etc.), are collected to some extent in the United 

 States. The peach seed comes mostly from the mountains 

 and foot-hills of Kentucky and Tennessee. In this section 

 it has run wild and simulated more nearly the conditions 

 of its native country. The trees have had to fight for 

 their own existence, and those that have survived are strong 

 and vigorous. Where these cannot be obtained, access 

 can only be had to the commercial varieties. A few kinds 

 like the Salway and Elberta produce good seed and are 

 often substituted for the wild ones. Unscrupulous nur- 

 serymen go direct to the canneries and driers and gather 

 seed promiscuously. This often results in many weak 

 and inferior specimens, resulting later in short-lived trees. 



With apricots the seed is usually collected from natural 

 fruit where the grafts have failed to take, or from those 



