ARLINGTON MARKET GARDENERS. 815 



same, whether there is carelessness or intent on the part of the 

 seedsman. 



These remarks, as we have before said, would apply to only 

 a portion of the seedsmen. Some of them we well know are 

 honorable men, who would not think of purchasing seeds of any 

 persons unless they knew their relia})ility, and were satisfied 

 that their stock to grow seeds from was right in every respect, 

 and was raised at such a distance from any other variety of the 

 same species as would prevent any mixture. 



Go to the market gardeners of Arlington, and we do not hes- 

 itate to say that they are among the best, if not the l)est and 

 most skilful market gardeners in this country ; see with what 

 care they procure their seed : first, they do as every farmer 

 should do, that is, they intend to grow enough for their own 

 use, so far as they can, either from their own or from the best 

 selected stock they can procure. Second, if they do not have 

 enongh of their own, they buy of one of their neighbors who, they 

 know, has the right sort. Third, they go to the seedsmen, and 

 after making inquiries of all of them, to see if they cannot find 

 some seed raised by a gardener who they are certain has tlie 

 right stock, if they do find any such, you may be sure that they 

 will take that. 



We have stated this to show the extreme care they give to 

 the selection of their seeds, a matter so important to them, and 

 one upon which their success in a great measure depends. 



"We can all do soxnothing in this direction ; and any intelligent 

 farmer or gardener can certainly improve the grains or garden 

 vegetables, if he goes about it systematically and persistently. 

 Of course, it is a matter of time, and may not be completed in 

 one or perhaps five years. And we should remember, that all 

 variations of vegetables have, by a long course of cultivation 

 and reproduction from the seed, been changed in some instances 

 from a bitter, worthless weed to an edible plant, and that they 

 are really in an artificial condition, and that the tendency of all 

 cultivated plants is to return to their former wild state ; and to 

 counteract this tendency will require care and selection in this 

 growing of the seed. 



The planting of the seed in the open ground can be done 

 best by using a drilling machine for most seeds. Some of these 

 machines do the work well and expeditiously. Care should be 



