CULINARY HERBS 1 5 



to arouse just appreciation of the opportunities 

 awaiting the herb grower. Besides the very large 

 and increasing number of people who take pleasure 

 in the growing of attractive flowering and foliage 

 plants, fine vegetables and choice fruits, there are 

 many who would find positive delight in the breed- 

 ing of plants for improvement — the origination of 

 new varieties — and who would devote much of their 

 leisure time to this work — make it a hobby — did 

 they know the simple underlying principles. For their 

 benefit, therefore, the following paragraphs are given. 



PRODUCTION OF NEW VARIETIES 



Besides the gratification that always accompanies 

 the growing of plants, there is in plant breeding the 

 promise that the progeny will in some way be better 

 than the parent, and there is the certainty that when 

 a stable variety of undoubted merit has been pro- 

 duced it can be sold to an enterprising seedsman for 

 general distribution. In this way the amateur may 

 become a public benefactor, reap the just reward of 

 his labors and keep his memory green ! 



The production of new varieties of plants is a 

 much simpler process than is commonly supposed. 

 It consists far more in selecting and propagating the 

 best specimens than in any so-called "breeding." 

 With the majority of the herbs this is the most likely 

 direction in which to seek success. 



Suppose we have sown a packet of parsley 

 seed and we have five thousand seedlings. Among 

 these a lot will be so weak that we will naturally 



