0. 4. 



AND GAKDENER'S JOURNAL. 



(>1 



marks ota Seeds and Seedsmen—Sowing 

 Seeds, C-auses of I'aili'iCi 6:e. 



The produclion of livin;; [ilimis from aii'all grnine 

 Becd dropped in the enrih, is one of ihc moat won- 

 ful Slid beniuiful opcrniioiis of Nnmre. Wlioii 

 imined by llic light of Science, it ie found to be 

 clcd by ibc combined agency of earth, iiir, mois- 

 e, and hent ; and to ensure bnccoes, it je necessary 

 t these four elements be combined in due but dif- 

 nt proportionb, according to the nature and habits 

 he difl'crent kinds of seeds. Hence arises the 

 .ciilty of causing some kinds to vegetate ; and the 



irtniniy which gardeners generally feel respecting 

 iiy of their crops nntill ihcy sec the young plants 

 ear. Hence, also, arise most of the complatnts 



h arc made to seedsmen, and the censures which 

 unjustly cast upon them by inexperienced cultiva- 



n ordcf to explain this subject, and with a view to 

 sen the evil, the Propictor of the Rochester Seed 

 ■e has annexed the testimony of several highly 

 ectablc and successful cultivators in the country, 

 1 Some accounts of their methods of preparing 

 1 sowing several of the most important kinds of 

 ds that are liable to foil with careless management. 

 The Editor of the Albany Cultivator, speaking 

 this general subject, says : — 

 Seeds often fail to grow ; and the seedsman is 

 in faulted, for vending bad seeds, -when the 

 tse of their not growing is owing to the gardcn- 

 OT planter. To induce germination, moisture, 

 lospheric air, and a certain temperature, are 

 ispensable ; and it is also requisite that light be 

 •luded from the seed, niWil the uuffiraent of the 

 d is exhausted, or imtil the root can draw nour- 

 ment from the soil. The first effect of the air, 

 it, and moisture upon the seed is, to change its 

 iperties — to convert its starch into sugar — into a 

 t of milky pulp, the proper food of the embryo 

 If at this stage the seed becomes dry, its 

 llity is believed to be destroyed ; but if these 

 nts are permitted to exert tlieiv influence, the 

 tents of the seed swell by degrees, and the first 

 ,ilt of tVie futvirc root having formed, breaks 

 OUgh the shell in a downward direction, and 

 )ut the same time the first point of the I'uture 

 m. comes forth in an upward direction. The 

 sence of the air, heat, and moisture are as in- 

 pensable to the growth of the plant, as they are 

 the germination of the seed. 

 •■ Now it often happens, that when seeds are 

 nled in fresh stirred ground, or when the soil is 

 Bist, they undergo the incipient progress of fer- 

 Untation, and the earth not being pressed Upon 



Jrt, and dry weather ensuing, the moisture is ab- 

 ided, and the seeds perish. Too much mois. 

 e is also often destructive lo the vital principle 

 seeds — and others again are buried too deep to 

 vivified by solar and atmospheric influence. — 

 e first object in planting, therefore, should be to 

 ce the seed just so far under the surface, and so 

 ;ovcr it with earth, as shall barely secure to it a 

 istant supply of nioisture. There are many 

 ds, as of the carrot, parsiiip, orchard grass, &c., 

 ich if not previously steeped, or the soil well 

 verized and pressed upon them, fail to grow for 

 nt of moisture. Hence, in sowing orchard grass, 

 s found prudent to spread it upon a Uoor and 

 inkle it with water, before it is sown, and to pass 

 oUer over the ground after the seed is sown; and 

 ice, in light garden mould, it is abvisable to 

 ;ss with the hoe or spade, the earth upon all 

 ht seeds after they are sown.'' 



Ou Solving Fle'iver Seeds. 



enough to scorch them. The dust-like seeds of the 

 Orchis nYid Cypripcdium sometimes grow in beds 

 of damp moss. 



Common garden loam, vvli'cther clayey or sandy, 

 is much improved by a dressing of vegetable earth 

 from the woods, well mixed before planting. If 

 prepared in the preceding autumn, and pulverized 

 by the frost, all the be'ftcr. 



Siich a soil is favorable to seeds of almost any kind, 

 but essential to the finer and more delicate sorts. The 

 preparation of the soil alone, however, is not enough. 

 Fine seeds may bo smothered if covered more ihnn 

 from oneeighih to half an inch deep ; and theirshort 

 roots may be i}nrchcd if exposed to the sun except in 

 morning and evening. To a faie soli, theretbre, wo 

 must add the protection o( shade, and in time ol 

 drought, a regular supply of moisture. II the seeds 

 are sown in an open binder, a sprinkling ot Water in 

 the cvef.iiigs is best, but carefully abstain from apply- 

 ingso much as will bake the ground." 



Oh Preparing and Sowing Onion Seed. 



W. Itci.BV— fjV. a. Farmer, I'cl.i, FtigcW.) says, 

 " First, soak the seeds in water from six to twenty- 

 four hours — sonic seeds being slower to admit mois- 

 ture than others, is the difl'erence in the time required. 

 After soaking, drain ofl' the water, and mix the seeds 

 with a s-jflicicut quantity of earth to absorb the mois- 

 ture remaining on the seed- ; stir them often that 

 they may vegetate evenly, and keep them in a mode- 

 rate degree of warmth and moisture nntill they are 

 sprouted, \Vhen they are ready to put into the ground. 

 If the weather should be unlavorable, put the seeds 

 ill a cool place, which will check their growth. ' * 



It was left in that situation until the time of sow- 

 ing. In April, as soon as the soil was sullicicntly 

 dry, the ploughing was commenced, and the second 

 day, at night, the sowing w'as finished, with seed 

 prepared as before stated. In one week the onions 

 iccrc vp, rows were soon visible nearly twenty rods, 

 and no weeds yet appeared. The operation of stirring 

 the soil With rakes and hoes wos then commenced, and 

 the weeds were noteuffered to grow during the sum- 

 mer. (It is a mistaken notion that it is not time to 

 hoe a ganjeii until it is green v/ith weeds ) The first 

 of iSeptember the onions were harvested, and the pro- 

 duct was over lioo Ikousaiul bushels of fine onions from 

 two and a half acres." 



On Soaking Alangel Wurtzel Seed. 



J. RirvLJKK saya, (N. G. Farmer, vol. J. p. 14!),) 

 '* ! prepared half an acre of land for Mangel WuriiEel, 

 and obtained the seed from your agent at fanandai- 

 gua. After soaking the seed Olie day, I commenced 

 sowing ; but rain came on, and the soil being rather 

 clayey, it was a whole week before I could sow the 

 remainder. The seed was sOakcd all this time, and 

 supposing it was spoiled or injured, I sowed it thicker 

 than usual, and had not enough to finish the ground. 

 Accordingly I sent to the same place ond got more 

 seed, and sowed the remainder without any s'laking ; 

 so that liart of my ground was sown with seed soaked 

 one day; onother part one week, and a third part not 

 at all. 



Now for the restilt : — The part soaked one week, 

 came up first, and much too thickly ; — the part soak- 

 ed one day, came up slowly and very thinly ; while 

 the part not soaked, did not come up at all. Thus 

 showing conclusively, the necessity of thoroughly 

 soaking these seeds, and the little clonger there is to be 

 apprehended from soaking too long, lam conlident 

 that inattention to this subject, is the most frequent 

 couse df the failure of the Mangel VVunzel and Su- 

 gor Beet seeds." 



WiLi.i.iM Garrutt, (N. G. Far. vol. I. p 20) 

 says, " Much complaint is sometimes made of Man- 

 gel Wurtzcl and Sugar Dcet seed failing to grow. 

 These seeds are not quite as sure of vegetation as 

 some kinds ; still, if rightly prepared, and sown when 

 the ground ia in good condition, before the weather 

 becomes too dry, they will very seldom fail. The 

 seed should be soaked in soft water, standiuii in a 

 warm place, /"or thrcr, or four days before sowing. 

 The shell of the seed is very hard, and requires a long 

 time soaking for it to become softened so that the germ 

 can burst it open. I have sometimes known it fail 

 after being soaked, owing to late sowing and dry 

 weather." 



riantinp; Ino deeply.— In vol. I . p. 97, W. R. 

 Smith states that he " planted half an acre of Mangel 

 Wurtzel with two pounds of seed from the Rochester 

 Seed Store. Jn a few days some scattering plants 

 made their appearance. « • • VVell, 



nearly two weeks after I was surprised to find a fair 

 num'ier of plants just peeping through, and from 

 their wcali and tbiii appearance, evidently weaned 



with their journey to the surface, which they never 

 could have reached, if the toil had not been light." 



Another correspof.dent (p. \'i\ ) says " I purchased 

 in the spring, at the Kochcster Seed Store, a email 

 quantity of mangel wurtzel seed. Some of them I 

 pfanted myself, and the ground being dry, I put them 

 in about three inches deep, bting resolved they should 

 grow. Another portion of them 1 left for my hired 

 man to jilanl, who, I ascertained, put iheiii in siill 

 deeper. The first came up rather thinly, although 

 abundance of seed was ut-cd ; mid the second •scarce- 

 ly grew at all. As eoine of my iieighliots bad been 

 equally uuouctxesful, the emicluaion iiceee,=ar;ly fol- 

 lowed that the seeds, if not the venders, Were no bet- 

 ter than they should be. 



Having some seed still ou hand, and a little nunc 

 vacant ground, after a rain I concluded Ui plant the 

 remainder ; but working rather in despair than in 

 hope, I buried them only an inch deep, dropping them 

 by the line without making ony lurrow. The rcrult 

 was they caiiic up as thickly as could be cxieeied from 

 the best of seed with the best of culture. I conelud. 

 ed it must be lather a dillicult business to pursue, 

 where one's hopcsty was thus cstablirthcd merely by 

 accident; rtnd that before condemning others, vo 

 should be careful that we ourselves Lad done our part 

 for insuring sucrcss.'' 



l\irsnip, Carrot, Celery and Parsley Seeds are 

 all slow to vegetate, and, il sown late and dry weather 

 succeeds, they will not often conic up. I'hcse seeds 

 should be sown early, in fine soil, rolled or pressed 

 down and kept moist. Mr. Geo. Shefler of Wheat- 

 land, raises large quantities rtf carrots for feeding. 

 He soaks the seed .18 lioiirs, then rolls it in plaster, 

 and when sown covers it from one half to three quar- 

 ters of an inch deep. — (N. G. Far. vol. 3, p. 181.) 



Cneumher, Melun and Squash Sce'ls, seldom lose 

 their vitality by age or otherwise, but when sown 

 they often fail to grow, owing to the ground being 

 cold or wet. These, and some other seeds, will inva- 

 riably rot if sown too early — before the ground ia 

 euliiciently warm. Lima Bca-as and Sweet Corn 

 often fail from the same causes. 



Egg Plant Seed will not vegetate in the open 

 ground — it requires a good hot-bed. 



Loeusl Seed must be thoroughly scalded, by pour- 

 in" on boiling hot water and letting it soak 2-1 hours. 



The liovc of FBo^vers, 



" Who does not love a flower ? 

 Its hues are taken from th*; light 

 Which summer's suns fiing pure and bright 

 In seatlercd and prismatic hues, 

 That smile and shine in dropping dews. 

 Its fragrance from the sweetest air, — 

 Its form from all that's light and fair, — 

 Who does not love a flower V 

 "Flowers, of all crcaled things, arc the mc;t 

 Innocent and simple, and most superbly complex — 

 play things for childhood and ornaments for the 

 grave. Flowers, beloved by the wandering idiot ; 

 and studied by the deep thinking man of science ! 

 Flowers, that of all perishing things are the most 

 perishing ; yet, of all earthly things are the most 

 heavenly! Flo\vcrs, that unceasingly' expand to 

 heaven their grateful, and toman their cheerful 

 I'ooks — promoters of human joy, soothers of human 

 sorrow ; fit emblems of the victor's triumphs, of 

 the young bride's blushes — welcome to crowded 

 halls, and graceful upon solitary graves! Flowers 

 arc, in the volume of nature, What the expression, 

 " God is love," is in the vplliilie of revelation," 



"The taste for flo\vers, every where increasing 

 among us, is an omen of good. Let us adorn our 

 parlors, doorways, yards and roadsides with trees, 

 shrubs, and flowers. How delightful they appear to 

 the passer by. How favorable we think of the person 

 whose yard and garden is decorated with shrubs and 

 flowers. When we view a dwelling, the doors and 

 windows of which are adorned with flowers, we asso- 

 ciate the females within with all that ia neat, gentle, 

 pure, charming, lovely and refined. Saw you ever 

 a coarse, ill bred, awkward family, wdicre a tnste for 

 flowers was displayed ^ Wc trow nut " 



