CHAP. ITT. SEEDS. 57 



LOCALITIES WHENCE IMPOHTED. 



America. Very large supplies of vegetable-seed have been 

 for several years past imported into this country from America. 

 The Agri-Horticultural Society derive thence by far the greater 

 part of the large bulk of vegetable-seeds they distribute annually 

 to their members ; and the seed has certainly been found in 

 most cases to possess the one great merit of germinating freely. 

 This, however, has been its main recommendation ; for as to the 

 quality of its produce, excepting in the case of one or two kinds 

 of Peas, I have found it always vastly inferior to that which I 

 have had annually sent me from England. 



Cape of Good Hope. Until very lately the Agri-Horticultural 

 Society have had large consignments of vegetable-seeds annually 

 from the Cape. The advantage of procuring them from that 

 country was supposed to consist in this, that they must neces- 

 sarily be fresher than those obtained either from America or 

 Europe ; inasmuch as, if immediately exported after being 

 harvested in that hemisphere, they would arrive in India just 

 in time for our season of sowing ; that is to say, they would not 

 be more than four months, or so, old when they reached us; 

 those coming to us from Europe or America being of necessity 

 at the least as much as twelve months old. This advantage 

 was, no doubt, to a great degree realised, as for the most part 

 the seeds germinated vigorously ; but at the same time it was 

 far overbalanced by the exceeding inferiority of the produce 

 which the seeds yielded. I for my part considered the seeds of 

 so little value, that when others could be obtained elsewhere I 

 never sowed them. 



England. For several years I had small consignments of 

 vegetable-seeds sent to me from England. These in almost 

 every instance germinated most freely ; and, as regards quality 

 of produce, were beyond comparison better than any I ever 

 obtained elsewhere. The Agri-Horticultural Society have made 

 trials of consignments for distribution to their members; but 

 complaints, I believe, are made of their not germinating so 

 freely as those procured from America. Seeds of flowering 

 annuals the Society have at different times procured from 

 several parts of the world, but found none which, for variety and 

 excellence, were anything like equal to those obtained from their 

 seedsman in London. 



