256 ON SAVING SEEDS. 



painting ; and of course would be the best to put in 

 the above-mentioned troughs for the destruction of 

 canker-worms. — A Lover of good Fruit. 



ON SAVING SEEDS. 



We lose immensely by not taking care, in season, to 

 save the best seeds for spring sowing. In the multi- 

 tude of our cares we forget, and need often to be re- 

 minded of the proper times and modes of preserving 

 what we have grown in our gardens and in our fields. 

 We need a faithful sentinel whose business it shall be, 

 like the preacher's, to remind us often of our duty; 

 and, if he tells nothing new, if he shows us nothing 

 which we have not seen before, he may still be 

 more useful than one who is always leading us into 

 new schemes, and urging us to adopt his theories which 

 he has reduced to practice. 



In general, peas, beans, and all other vegetables that 

 grow in pods, should be preserved for seed in those 

 pods until the time for sowing. Melons of all kinds, 

 pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, &c. should have their 

 seeds taken from the shell and washed ; then they 

 should be laid up in a dry place secure from mice, &c. 



Seed Wheat. If we could ever spare the time — 

 and who cannot ? — we might easily select the very 

 best of seed from our own fields. 



Experiments are not wanting to show that, in most 

 fields of wheat, there is a vast difference between the 

 productiveness and the qualities of the different heads. 

 Some will ripen much earlier than others, and these 

 should therefore never be sown in the same field ; for 

 it is an important point to harvest the grain as soon as 

 it is ripe. 



It is also ascertained that the straw of certain kinds 

 of wheat is much heavier than that of other kinds ; 



