SPECIAL NOTICE, 



Seeds of the best quality will often fail through improper treatment. Thus, a small 

 seed may be sown so deeply that the young plant cannot reach the surface. More failures 

 result from disregard of the conditions necessary to germination than from inferiority of the 

 seeds used. These conditions are: a proper temperature, sufficient moisture, and free access 

 of air. Besides these, the soil must be in proper condition, and present no physical obsta- 

 cle to the growth of the young plant. If heavy rains have compacted the surface of the soil, 

 and the sun has baked it to a hard crust, it will be impossible, even if all other conditions 

 are favorable, for the seedling plants to force their way through it, and many perish from 

 this cause alone. Seeds differ greatly as to the temperature required for germination. Beets, 

 Cress, Peas, etc., germinate rapidly at a temperature of 45°; but if Melons and other seeds 

 of that family, bush or pole Beans, and other plants of subtropical origin, are sown under 

 the same conditions, they will be apt to decay, as for their prompt germination they require 

 a heat of at least 60°. For this reason many seeds fail yearly from too early sowing. The 

 second condition, proper moisture, is likely to be violated by an excess rather than by too 

 small a portion. The proper amount is that which a well-drained soil will naturally hold 

 Free access of air is all important, and this is interfered with by an excess of water in the 

 soil. In germination complex chemical changes take place in the seeds, in which the air 

 performs an important part. A portion of the seed is consumed, carbonic acid gas being 

 given off in changing the starch and other constituents of the seed into nutriment to for- 

 ward the growth of the germ or embryo plant, which depends upon the contents of the seed 

 until it has formed roots below the ground and leaves above, and is able to sustain itself. 

 Besides these conditions affecting the germination of the seed, the young plants, after they 

 have made their way to the surface, are liable to various accidents; a sudden current of very 

 cold air, or a continuous drying wind, may check their growth, or destroy them altogether- 

 In addition, there are numerous insects, both below and above ground, that may attack the 

 plants, some of them being so small that they often destroy a crop before they are discov- 

 ered. We may also mention the well-known tendency of many vegetables to revert to their 

 original types, notwithstanding the care of the seed-grower; the yellow-podded wax Beans 

 becoming green, the yellow and white C.elery becoming more or less green, dwarf Peas be- 

 coming running sorts, etc. 



The vitality (that is, percentage of growth) can be tested easily before planting, but 

 no one can tell from an examination of the seeds themselves whether they are of a high grade 

 pedigree strain or the veriest rubbish. 



It is necessary, therefore, that every planter must trust some seedsman. The fact that 

 more planters order direct from us, — year after year, — shows that Stecki^er's Seet>S have 

 been proven trustworthy. Mistakes, however, may occur sometimes, and no honest seedsman 

 can assume responsibility for more than the price actually paid by the purchaser. The fact 

 that we have always plainly stated, where failure is due to any fault of the seed, we would 

 promptly refund the full price paid, should convince even new customers that we have 

 absolute confidence both in the quality of vStecki^er's Seeds and in the thorough system 

 of safeguards with which we surround their selecting, cleaning and packing. 



