Report From the Experimental 
Garden at Depauville. 
BY J. J. ALLEN. 
During the past season we have tested 
about one hundred kinds of garden seeds. 
Those seeds sent us from the Agricultural 
epartment at Washington, many of them 
were of the older varieties, and some of 
the newer sorts did not do well at all, espe¬ 
cially the imported onion seeds, for they 
failed to bottom. 
It is my purpose to test nearly all of the 
newer kinds recommended and then advise 
farmers and gardeners to cultivate only the 
best kinds, and in this way the garden, which 
is of such benefit to the family, may be 
very much improved. To cultivate only 
t le best of garden vegetables for the use of 
the family or for the market will pay a 
good profit to the producer as well as to the 
buyer. Many of the experiments recently 
conducted have resulted to the perfect sat¬ 
isfaction of the director which result will 
m due time be given to Seed-Time and 
Harvest. It has not been our aim to run 
to the extreme in the use of extra means to 
bring about some great result but to use only 
such means as is in the reach of every farm¬ 
er and gardener in this section. The past 
season we have not used a pound of any 
commercial fertilizers that have been offer¬ 
ed on the market. We have tested many 
of the brands of phosphates on the market 
and are well satisfied that the best of 
commercial manures offered are a very 
expensive luxury at least. Good barn or 
stable manure with plenty of wood ashes 
is as good for the land as any thing we can 
get. I would not denounce the use of 
commercial fertilizers. In some sections 
of this country they are the only means by 
which a fair crop can be secured. But in 
this town where we can get all the stable 
manure that we need and can use for 
twenty-five to forty cents for all that two 
horses can draw, and all the unleached hard 
wood ashes that we can find money to pay 
for and time to draw, at six cents per bush¬ 
el, or a load of old bones for the trouble 
of gathering them, and all the droppings 
from the hen roost that we want for ten 
cents per bushel, where is the benefit in 
paying forty dollars per ton for commer¬ 
cial fertilizers? 
I found, the past season, that there was 
a vast difference in seeds of the same name 
in their time of germinating, habit of 
growth and maturing, under the same treat¬ 
ment, culture and care. For instance, we 
received four packages of the Fottler’s Cab¬ 
bage seed, all sown the same day in the 
same kind of soil in different boxes and all 
covered with glass the same, but to my 
surprise there was more than a week’s 
difference in their coming up, and there 
was also a greater difference in their grow¬ 
ing after they had concluded to favor us 
with their presence. The seed from your 
Puget Sound stock were the first to show 
themselves. The next was seed of my own 
growing* and last and least was seed from 
the Department at Washington, which was 
nearly ten days behind the times. When 
the time came to set the plants I sorted out 
one hundred from each box and set them 
as they became large enough to put out. 
Fiom the first to the last setting was twelve 
days. The plants were all set on about the 
same quality of soil and treated as nearly 
alike as was in my power. At the harvest 
I found a greater difference than was ex¬ 
pected. The first one hundred set of the 
P. S. seed gave me cabbage (the solid head 
cut out) to the amount of 784 pounds; 
home raised seed from large heads 747 
pounds; the lowest yield from the last set 
was 428 pounds, which was a vast difference 
and I cannot blame myself for it. Never 
sow poor seed if you want the best results 
from your labor. 
Depauville , JV. T. 
GARDEI3EI1 .practical gardener 
nevt frw deMres a situation by March 
° lass recommendation. Address 
THEO. BINET, Box 91. Frostburg, Md. 
Valley View Nursery. 
^8 8,888 PEACH TREES FOR SAl^E 
a ^a 1 skss™ aud deaiers - An <> 
VALLEY VIEW NURSERY, 
_ _ Washingto n, N. J, 
10,000 STEEL STRINGS. 
. -r 7 . ,. . -Silver Finish.— 
per dozen. Satisfaction guaranteed ’ I g lc ' 
D. S. PORTER , Fergusonville , N. Y. 
