56 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETV, 



MEETING EOK LECTUEE AND DISCUSSION. 



Saturday, February 8, 189G. 

 A meeting for Lecture aucl Discussion Avas holden today at 

 eleven o'clock, the President, Fkaxcis H, Appletox, in the 

 chair. 



The following paper was read by the author : 



Seed Control: Its Aims, Methods, and Benefits. 



By Gilbert H. Hicks, of the Division of Botany, United States Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 



It seems like a waste of time to call the attention of the farmer, 

 gardener, and fruit grower to the importance of planting good 

 seed. From the remotest period it has been known that men 

 cannot gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, and yet 

 this is being attempted to a considerable extent in American 

 husbandry every year. 



Many farmers are dissatisfied with the low prices their products 

 bring, with high tariffs and low tariffs, with the weather, and 

 multitudinous other unfavorable conditions for profitable agricult- 

 ure ; yet only a few — a surprisingly small number — attach due 

 weight to the fact that one of the very foundations of success for 

 them is pure seed, germinable and true to name. It is unques- 

 tionably true that the present conditions in this country, including 

 the sharp competition with both home and foreign products, 

 render the profitable pursuit of agriculture exceedingly precarious, 

 at least in many cases. I believe, on the other hand, that it is 

 equally true that by proper attention to business, by using the 

 best seeds, the best soil, and the best methods of cultivation and 

 marketing, every farmer and gardener can make for himself a 

 comfortable living and by proper frugality accumxilate a substan- 

 tial store for future necessities. 



It is urged that there is already a ])lethoric yield of agricult- 

 ural products, — more than our markets demand. While this 

 may apply to inferior or mediocre articles, it does not hold good 

 for those of the best quality. Every year sees a larger demand 

 for first-class vegetables, fruits, and cereals. Americans of the 

 present time are living more highly than the}^ used to, and are 

 willing to pay high prices for the best table luxuries. 



The man who raises the best crops, then, is coming out away 



