NOVELTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES. 81 



Irregularity in sprouting is often observable with 

 seeds just harvested, particularly so with corn and beans, 

 as it would seem nature intended they should become 

 dry or dormant before sprouting into new life. Seeds 

 of cabbage, turnip and radish are liable to grow moldy 

 if kept in bags without ventilation, and often the seed 

 merchant is blamed for the inattention of the consumer 

 himself. 



The writer has known of many instances where 

 freshly harvested, and, consequently, soft seeds of turnip, 

 cabbage and radish, shipped because the consumer 

 insisted upon having fresh seeds, proved, upon examina- 

 tion later on in the season, after having been kept in 

 bags as shipped, to have taken on a moldy smell and, on 

 trial, to have fallen from ninety or ninety-five per cent, 

 vitality to fifty per cent. Sugar corn is very liable to 

 injury when stored in bags, and new beans shipped early 

 in autumn are almost certain to sweat. 



In the United States the leading seedsmen publish 

 a disclaimer to the same effect as their brethren in 

 Europe, the phraseology, in general, being about the 

 same. No sensible gardener would take exceptions to 

 this, as it is only such a precaution as he himself would 

 take, knowing full well the variable results of climate, 

 soil, rainfall, and variations in the action of manures. 



