SAVING SEEDS. 



57 



tough and missliapen. The seed may come up well but 

 when fullgrown not be at all the thing you wish. Truth in 

 seed is in insured by raising them yourself and at so great 

 a distance from any other plants of the same species that 

 intermixture is impossible. If you buy, purchase only ot 

 a trusty seedsmen , and as these cannot raise all the va- 

 rieties, even they may be deceived. If you get hold of 

 seeds that are very true, it is best to buy enough to last as 

 long as those seeds will keep. Among the most reliable 

 wholesale seedsmen, I will mention the following houses 

 (without disparaging others), whose seeds I have used and 

 find them reliable. Buist & Landreth, of Philadelphia ; 

 Hovey & Co., of Boston ; and Thorburn, of New York. 

 In many cases it would be better to remit to these gentle- 

 men direct, through a merchant and obtain the desired 

 kinds, than to plant the miserable seeds often sent out to 

 our stores, even if the latter were gratis. There is no 

 reason in the world why the South should not raise its 

 own seeds. 



Saving and Preserving Seeds. — Directions are given 

 under each plant, but we will add the following general 

 rules, : — 



The very finest plants should be chosen for this pur- 

 pose, that is, those most true to their kind and most 

 perfect in shape and quality. In the cabbage, a small 

 short stem, well formed head with few loose leaves ; in the 

 turnip large bulb, small neck, few short and slender stalked 

 leaves, and solid flesh. In the radish, high color (unless 

 white), small neck, few and short leaves, and in the case 

 of flowers, seed should be saved only from those most per- 

 fectly developed. 



Great care should be taken to preserve the varieties 

 unmixed, as if varieties of the same species, or very similar 

 3* 



