SEEDS AND SEED GROWING 
99 
hot weather also hastens deterioration. Some seeds, as 
that of turnip, cabbage and radish, may mold unless kept 
in well-ventilated bags. 
145. Buying seeds. — 'Buy the best ; the price is sec- 
ondary. It costs much more to produce good seeds than 
poor, because the time of experts and the most severe 
roguing are required. For example, certain well-bred 
strains of Jersey Wakefield and other varieties of cab- 
bage tested in Pennsylvania were found to be much more 
profitable than others. The expenditure of a few more 
dollars a pound for seed is not worth considering when 
there is assurance of increased profits. 
Buy from reputable houses ; they desire to serve you 
well. All good seed houses have specialties in which they 
take great pride, and it often pays to patronize these 
houses when such varieties are wanted. Special commer- 
cial growers sometimes purchase, a year in advance, lib- 
eral quantities of the same variety from different houses. 
Each lot is then tested and the best is used for the regu- 
lar plantings the following year. 
146. Seed guarantees. — Several states have enacted 
laws to regulate the seed trade. Such laws have doubt- 
less been valuable, but it is an extremely difficult matter 
to control by law. Legislation is needed more for farm 
seeds than for garden seeds, as impurities are seldom 
found in vegetable seeds. Many firms are making an 
honest effort to sell good seed, but errors in labeling may 
occur, and inclement weather may affect the vitality of 
seeds, and unjust penalties might be imposed if legisla- 
tion were too severe in this matter. There are humbugs 
in the seed business, but why should they be patronized 
when there are so many reputable dealers, although 1 even 
the most reliable dealers may make mistakes? 
147. Change of seed. — There is a prevailing idea that 
growers should change seed after using the same strain 
for a- few years. If the seed is selected at home without 
