132 Gardening 



who are engaged in gardening will find it to their advan- 

 tage to order in bulk and then divide the seed into 

 packets themselves. 



How to produce seeds in the home garden. Good 

 seed of several of the crops grown in the home vegetable 

 garden may be raised by the gardener himself. In grow- 

 ing these seeds, he needs to pay attention to the same 

 matters that the commercial seedsman does. He should 

 aim first to select parents which are true to the variety ; 

 next, to prevent cross-pollination between varieties ; 

 and finally, to collect and care for the seed prop- 

 erly. 



The successful selection of seed and the judgment of 

 parents is least difficult in those plants whose fruits or 

 seeds are used as food. Melons, corn, tomatoes, and 

 beans are in this class. These plants make complete, 

 or almost complete, development as ordinarily grown 

 in the garden. With a little study the best plants may 

 be selected for seed parents. The largest and earliest 

 fruits from best-yielding plants may be saved for their 

 seeds. To insure a good pollen parent for corn, it is an 

 excellent plan to cut out those stalks that bear no ears, 

 and break off, before the pollen is shed, the tassels of the 

 plants that have small ears. 



In selection for those plants like the salad plants and 

 the root crops, attention is given especially to the edible 

 parts leaves, stems, or roots rather than to the 

 fruits or the seeds. The annuals of this group, especially 

 lettuce and radishes, tend to produce some poor plants 

 which " run to seed " early. These should be pulled 

 up before they blossom. If a few of the earliest of the 



