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On the Raising, Growing, 
Cleansing, and Testing 
of Seeds . 
Qi 
= r I » H E prominence we have given to our Trade 
= I Mark “ Tested Seeds " over so long a 
= period has repeatedly given rise to the 
question, “ What do you mean by Tested 
Seeds? ” Believing that the raising, grow- 
ls ing, testing, &c., of Seeds will be a matter of interest 
H to our Customers, we take this opportunity of giving 
S an explanation of some of the methods that 
were employed leading up to the introduction to 
j=j the gardening world of such well-known Peas as 
H Telicphone, Stratagem, Daisy, Michaelmas, 
m Mayflower, Harvestman, International, Quite 
j| Content, Market Gardener, Giant Lightning, 
= &c., &c., a process which frequently involves seven 
g to eight years of patient observation and labour before 
= a new introduction can be placed with confidence 
= before the attention of our Customers. 
We have selected culinary Peas as our illustration 
because they are more easily identified, but analogous 
= methods have to be pursued in the improvement of 
Q all varieties of Vegetables and Flowers, a work which , 
S we have made — and still continue to make — a special 
= feature of our business. Indeed, it is now a matter 
= of history that our House has been responsible for 
= some of the most important improvements in Vege- 
2 tables and Flowers far too numerous to mention i 
= here. 
_ Let us assume that one of our Experts has observed 
= a promising seedling, produced from cross-fertilisation 
H the previous year in our experimental grounds ; its 
= merits and characteristics are carefully noted in our 
H Garden Registers. Possibly it may produce an extra- 
11 ordinarily large pod, like Quite Content, or it may 
= be earlier, later, taller, more prolific and compact, 
— &c., than any other variety shown in our comparative 
= trials to be in commerce. 
The produce of the plant is then carefully harvested 
= and sown the following spring, when it again goes 
= through the same routine, may be for six or seven 
Q years, to secure constancy and fixation of its special 
H characteristics ; the produce by this time may have 
j= increased to several bushels, when it is ready to be 
_ sown for a crop. Ground that is particularly suited 
j= to the variety is carefully selected, and the Seed is 
= sown. In the early summer, when the plants are 
□ in maturity, our Experts, who have watched the 
= character of the Pea ever since it was a seedling in 
H our experimental grounds, examine every plant, 
= eliminating any that show a weakness or lack of 
= uniformity ; the crop is then harvested, stacked, and 
threshed, and eventually comes to our warehouse to 
be cleaned, hand-picked, and finally tested for = 
germination. The subsequent processes of testing, 
&c., we have pleasure in illustrating with notes on 
the back page of this inset. = 
A view of some of our seventy-five Cleaning and = 
Pea-picking Machines, all driven by electric motors, 
is given. =j 
Number 10 is familiarly called in our warehouse = 
the “ Dreadnought,” and stands sixteen feet in height. 
No weed, however nimble, or light seed can pos- □ 
sibly escape its vigilance ; it is fed by an electric =. 
elevator, and its duties are exacting. 
In the first instance the seed travels into a large g 
drum at the top of the machine and is brushed by 
rapidly revolving specially prepared lambs’ skins, all 
small portions of husk and earth that may adhere to =j 
the seeds at the time of harvesting being removed. 
The seed then descends by gravitation (when all dirt, 
dust, and light seeds are drawn away by forced 
draught) on to sieves which, by an eccentric move- = 
ment, take out all the “smalls.” The whole combina- 
tion is driven by a powerful electric motor, which 
also gathers the dust from and around the machine 
by suction, ready to be carted away and destroyed. 
The Peas are now cleaned and graded, but some 
O’ 
are stained or injured by inclement weather or by the 
attacks of insects, which probably weaken their 
germination ; these must be picked out by hand. 
The founder of our firm, James Carter, was, we 
believe, the first to guarantee the germination of his 
Garden Seeds eighty-three years ago ; the practice as = 
amplified in the following illustrations (see back page 
of this inset) is still conducted annually by our Firm. 
Peas, and all Vegetables, Flowers, and Farm 
Seeds, are grown at the same time as our Customers 
grow them, to full maturity, so that we may assure = 
ourselves of the quality and triteness of each variety. 
By examining our trials from time to time we know 
exactly how the produce of our Seeds should appear 
in the gardens and farms of our Customers all over 
the World, making allowances for the various qi 
climates, and by the aid of our comparative tests (we 
try all Seeds of repute) we assure ourselves that our 
Customers are growing “ the best and only the best ” 
and “Tested.” 
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