100 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



care or intelligence, this advice is in order. On the othei 

 hand, if the fundamental principles of breeding are ob- 

 served, vi^hy should it be necessary to discontinue a 

 strain of merit for one of unknown value? A change of 

 variety is a different proposition and this can often be 

 done to advantage. 



148. Novelties. — All good varieties now in cultivation 

 were once novelties. Advancement has been possible 

 because novelties arouse universal interest, although 

 comparatively few of them ever become of great value. 

 The grower, however, never knows when a novelty may 

 become more valuable than an old variety he has been 

 growing perhaps for many years. The testing of novel- 

 ties, then, is of economic value. The producer who is 

 specializing in only a few important vegetables can well 

 afford to test the novelties. One of superior merit might 

 materially increase profits if substituted for a long cul- 

 tivated variety. A sample packet of seeds is sufficient to 

 test a novelty and therefore the expense is slight, while 

 the reward may be great. 



149. Old versus new seed. — Fresh seed usually germi- 

 nates more promptly than old seed, although there may 

 be advantages in sowing old seeds. Many gardeners 

 claim that fresh seed of the cucurbits (melons, cucum- 

 bers, squashes, etc.) tends to produce more vine and 

 leaf and less fruit than seed several years old. But fresh 

 seed is generally preferred and is particularly important 

 when the vitality of the seed is low, as with onion and parsnip. 



150. Seed testing. — Seeds may be tested to determine 

 their purity, trueness to name or type and their viabiHty 

 or power to grow. As most garden seeds do not contain 

 impurities, testing for this purpose is of little importance, 

 while testing for trueness to name or type is of great 

 importance, and can be done to a considerable extent by 

 special growers who are cultivating only a few crops. 

 Most of the testing at the experiment stations has been 



