VEGETABLE PLANTS. 97 



many superiors. Let it not be supposed that 

 every new seedling is valuable. Men who 

 have produced varieties of especial merit have 

 devoted almost their whole time to the work, 

 and offered to the public only a few of the 

 best from many thousands of seedlings. Who 

 would think of trying to produce from the 

 seed an apple superior to the Northern Spy, 

 Baldwin, or Greening ? Yet our finest fruits 

 were once produced from seeds, and the 

 chances of superiority on new potatoes are 

 probably no greater than in the case of fruits. 

 Those who have been most successful have 

 accomplished it by making crosses, or hybrid- 

 izing the blossoms on the best varieties at their 

 command. In this way great improvements 

 have certainly been made during the past few 

 years, and there is at the present time a list 

 of varieties which we believe more meritorious 

 than was ever offered to the public before at 

 least, within our recollection. We will append 

 a short description of some which are not yet 

 generally cultivated : 



EARLY VARIETIES. Alpha. This is, with- 

 out doubt, the earliest variety in cultivation. 

 It is adapted only to garden culture, as the 

 vines are of a very dwarf nature, and it requires 



