I04 



the old and tried sorts with which each one is famil- 

 iar and which have proven successful under a wide 

 range of conditions need little description and are 

 dismissed with a line or two. The habit of chang- 

 ing seed, common among many gardeners, is of 

 doubtful value, and the whole practice is based 

 more upon tradition than upon reason. The poor 

 results secured from seed saved at home have been 

 largely responsible for the supposed merit of the 

 system. Under the methods of seed saving as com- 

 monly followed, varieties and strains rapidly 

 deteriorate and new supplies from reliable seed 

 houses naturally give better results. With proper 

 care in selecting seed, just the opposite should 

 be the case. Certain strains of the various va- 

 rieties may be selected, particularly well adapted to 

 local conditions and improved upon and kept pure 

 as the years go by. The instances, however, where 

 this is done is the exception rather than the rule. 

 Northern grown seeds, in some cases, do have ad- 

 i'antages over southern grown in being somewhat 

 hardier and are often found to mature earlier. The 

 use of old seed is generally to be discouraged, except 

 with those known to hold their vitality for a number 

 of years and when properly grown and stored. 



A common practice of many successful gardeners 

 is to buy a sufficient supply of seed known to be 

 of high quality to last for two seasons. After care- 

 ful testing, the value of the seed is known and can 

 be depended upon to give results under proper con- 

 ditions. Some melon and cucumber growers prefer 

 to use seeds two or three years of age, believing 

 a little less vine growth and greater fruitfulness are 

 secured. This practice is based on good plant 

 physiology, but it is extremely easy to go too far 



