Sozi' Clean Seed. 75 



small seeds have not been carefully hand- 

 picked, he can have no certain assurance 

 except by critical examination that they are 

 clean ; and in the preparation for sowing of 

 the great variety of seeds in which he deals 

 hand-picking is out of the question. Pur- 

 chased seeds, therefore, should not only be 

 examined with the utmost care, and be 

 cleaned again if weed seeds are discovered 

 in them, but the crops that are raised from 

 them should receive the most careful scru- 

 tiny while they are growing, so long as 

 there is any ground for suspecting that 

 weeds also are growing among them. As 

 weed seeds are oftener carried in the seeds 

 of clovers and grasses than in other w^ays, 

 particular care should be exercised in the 

 purchase of any seeds of these crops. 



It may, indeed, be w^ise to grow at home 

 many sorts of seeds that are now^ commonly 

 purchased, or else to buy them from a 

 neighbor who has a reputation for growing 

 pure seeds. It would be well, too, when 

 attempting to raise one's own seed, to select 

 but a small portion of the crop for this pur- 

 pose, and to take special pains to prevent 

 any noxious weeds from maturing their 

 seeds in this portion ; and this plan should 



