10 THE BEGINNER'S GARDEN BOOK 



Again, from certain kinds of plants we shall scarcely be 

 willing to go to the trouble of saving seed. Plants that 

 need two years to grow, such as the parsnip, take up too 

 much soil and time. The seed of some plants, such as 

 rhubarb, do not certainly produce plants like their parents, 

 for they are likely to be worse. The seed of other plants, 

 like the peony, take from four to six years to make flowers, 

 and there is a shorter way to get flowering plants. And the 

 seed of a tree is of very little value to most of us, since to 

 grow a tree from seed will tax the patience of any home 

 gardener, when several years can be saved by buying one. 



Nevertheless, with annual plants whose seed are easy to 

 handle, seed saving may be worth while. Some of them 

 we grow for flowers. If you have a poppy, or a sweet pea, 

 or a petunia, whose beauty you especially admire, the seed 

 may be saved. Biennials and perennials, which live more 

 than a year, also yield seed worth saving. So with the 

 larkspur, columbine, and foxglove. But remember always 

 that if other such plants are near, the result may be dis- 

 appointing. The colors may be different, and the blossoms 

 smaller. 



More important in many localities is the saving of vege- 

 table seed. Everywhere throughout the middle West are 

 associations for the saving of seed corn, a single perfect ear 

 of which has been known to sell for two hundred and fifty 

 dollars. The seed of tomatoes may well be saved by any 

 one who has found plants which do especially well for his 

 soil. Further, with plants which are not grown from seed, 

 such as the potato, it may prove very wise to save tubers 

 for growing again. In all these cases the amount of seed 

 saved is but a very small part of the whole crop, the rest of 

 which may be used in other ways. 

 The saving of seed requires alertness and good judgment 



