SEED-TIME hm HABVEST. 
Experimental Seed Growing. 
The following curious facts given by Dr. 
Sturtevant, director of the N. Y. State Ex¬ 
periment Station at Geneva will no doubt 
prove interesting to our readers: The 
relation of the position of the seed upon 
the plant is an important one. The State¬ 
ments of two years' results at the Station 
in favor of the terminal kernels of the 
Corn-ear have excited much interest, as 
also the results of last year in favor of the 
terminal eyes of the Potato. We have 
results in vegetation which illustrate the 
same point. Thus, in the Parsnip, seeds 
from the central head vegetated forty-two 
per cent., and seeds from the lower branches 
f ixty-two per cent, in one case, and in the 
Other case twenty-three per cent, from the 
terminal, and forty-seven per cent, from 
the lower stems. 
In the Parsnip, the seeds gathered green 
vegetated poorer than those from the cen¬ 
tral head gathered ripe. Thus in the Long 
Hollow Crown variety, seeds from the cen¬ 
tral head gathered green vegetated thirty- 
ieven per cent. 
In the Beet, the first ripe seed vegetated 
foest in four cases, and poorest in two cases 
Out of six. In the Carrot, the first ripe 
igeed vegetated best in one case, the latest 
4n one case, and the same in two cases out 
Of four. Expressing these facts in percent¬ 
ages; the first ripe seed vegetated about 
twice as well as the last ripe seed. In the 
Onion, the last ripe seed vegetated better 
$n every case of four, and vegetated earlier 
In three out of four cases. Green seed vege¬ 
tated better than ripe seed in one case, and 
fio better in one case out of the trials. In 
(Spinach, the first ripe seed vegetated better 
tneveiy case, earlier in three cases, on the 
$ame day in two cases, and later in one 
Case out of the six varieties, 
In the Pea, the seed from the earliest 
pods vegetated slightly better than those 
from the latest pods. In radishes there 
Was no differences in per cent, of vegeta¬ 
tion between the first and last ripe seed, 
while in the tomato the last ripe seed vege¬ 
tated slightly better than did the seed from 
4he first ripe fruit. 
In the last year’s work we found a num¬ 
ber of indications that immature seed pro¬ 
duced earlier crops than ripe seed, and this 
year a number of experiments of this char¬ 
acter were tried, the importance of which 
will be at once evident. Thus in Cook’s 
Favorite tomato, grown from unripe seed 
ripened their fruit on August 1st, while 
plants grown from ripe seed ripened their 
fruit August 15th to 18th. In the cabbage, 
seeds of the Winnigstadt variety, gathered 
before ripeness furnished plants [which 
were at edible maturity on July 29lli, while 
ripe seed were at edible maturity from 
August 3d, to 6th; the green seeds furnish¬ 
ing heads six and one-half indies in di¬ 
ameter, while the ripe seed furnished heads 
four and one-half to four and three-fourth 
inches in diameter. 
In Lettuce, All the Year Round variety, 
gi een and ripe seeds yielded crop about th# 
same date, as also was the case with the 
Bath Cos and Prize Head. In the Early 
Lon^ Scarlet Short-top radish, seeds gather¬ 
ed green furnished edible roots on June 
24th, while those gathered ripe came in on 
June 8Eh. In Ferry’s Perpetual Market 
the ripe and green seeds furnished crop 
the same date. In Peas the Blue Peter 
variety was at edible maturity June 24th 
for both ripe and green seed. In the 
Eugen a, the ripe seed furnished crop on 
July 1st, and the green seed July 3d, 
William the First, picked at edible maturity, 
furnished crop June 5th, picked just afbr 
edible maturity furnished crop June 9, and 
became ripe June 16. All our plants, howev¬ 
er, with reference to this subject have not 
yet reached edible maturity, and these re¬ 
sults as here given must be considered sim¬ 
ply as selections from our plants in progress. 
Changing Seeds. 
It is quite a commonly expressed idea 
that if farm and garden seeds be contin¬ 
ually propagated for many years in one lo¬ 
cality that they will degenerate or “run 
out,” and planters are frequently advised t# 
procure new seed from a distance in order 
to counteract or prevent this tendency. 
This is certainly a subject which will be^r 
more experimenting, for before we can 
