THE GOVERNMENT SEED SHOP. 
A NATIONAL DISGRACE, AND TEE WORLD’S LAUGHING STOCK, 
The Commissioner of Agriculture, with a coolness that would be refreshing in a warmer 
season, in his Annual Report, urges Congress to make liberal appropriations of the people’s 
money to purchase Seeds for the Government Seed-Shop. More than this, he wishes Congress 
to restore the Franking Privilege, so that Members of Congress can burden the mails with these 
Seeds, without one penny of return to the Government. So, it seems, if the Commissioner can 
have his way, this most arrant humbug, the Government Seed-Shop , is to be continued in full 
force, and Rye and Turnip seed and Marrowfat Peas are to be picked up all over the country by 
the Great American Government, to be peddled out by Congressmen. What a nice picking, too, 
this will make for the “ Drummers,” sent over by the English seed houses. How they will 
rejoice to hear of the passage of appropriations by Congress for the purchase of seeds, and with 
what speed will they hasten to the Washington Seed-Shop, anxious for a share of the spoil. Such 
a glorious opportunity of turning their old seeds into cash docs not offer every day, and no Gov¬ 
ernment but the American gives them a chance at the public Treasury. We hope, however, 
that our Commissioner will pay his bills, even if the London seed-sellers cheat him, as 
of course, he might expect. It don’t look well for the Government to be quibbling and 
quarreling over their little bills, and we would not like to be called in again to advise with either 
party, as between the rogues and fools we hardly care which wins, even if the latter are our 
countrymen. Still, we do not think it right for these foreign seedsmen to take our money and 
then laugh at us; and we never before felt so mortified as when, in Europe, we learned of the 
performances of the American National Seed Buyers for the great Washington Seed-Shop, and 
that we were the laughing-stock of the European seedsmen. And yet, perhaps, we cannot blame 
them, “ for he that wins may laugh,” the old adage says. And we had to laugh, too—how could 
we help it, when we read in an order sent by the American Government to a Seed-house in Lon¬ 
don, special directions to “ put the seeds in papers as unlike the packages of American seedsmen 
as possible, as it was desired they should have a foreign aspect.” No anxiety about the quality of 
the seeds, but great concern about the aspect of the little paper bags. We merely remarked that 
it was quite evident all the fools did not live in England. Not only is seed purchased in Eng¬ 
land and France, but for some years, if not now, it was put up there in the little Seedsmen’s 
papers—in Paris, until the French war; then in London—so that the little packets might present 
a foreign aspect. Is it not time Congress put an end forever to this stupid quackery ? 
In this way, for a score of years, the Government has been wasting ,the people’s money in 
buying seeds, — just such seeds as a person with plenty of money and ignorant of the business 
would be apt to procure,—and sending them to politicians and others, free of charge and free of 
postage. If any person whose eye this may meet needs a paper of Mignonette, or a package of 
Pumpkin seed, he can very likely obtain it at this shop by writing to his Congressman, who, (if 
well disposed, and Congressmen we have always found kindly inclined,) will send his order to 
the boss or clerks in this establishment, and the seeds will be forwarded, free of expense to the 
receiver, the great American People footing the bill — that is, if he has any political influence 
likely to be useful to any of the parties. 
The American people are not paupers. They can afford to buy and pay for what seed they 
require ; and even if they needed seeds, Congress is not designed for a charitable institution ; if so, 
it has done its work very badly. These seeds are sent to doctors, lawyers, mechanics, &c., not 
one in a dozen having any use for seeds, and bushels have been eaten up in this city and every 
city, by the mice and rats, while many a flock of Brahmas and Cochins have fattened on Govern¬ 
ment seeds put up in packages ** with a foreign aspect.” 
All this is done, it is said, to encourage Agriculture and Horticulture. We did not know 
that these interests needed special encouragement at the expense of the whole people. We have 
always heard of the “independent farmers,” and as for Horticulturists, we have yet to learn of 
the first one who does not pronounce this system a humbug. Why not “ encourage” the Dairy 
interest, by passing around a few fine blooded calves ; and some Cheshire pigs would not be bad 
among the farmers. The Poultry people should not be neglected ; a few Shanghai eggs might be 
distributed at random over the country ; or, perhaps, better yet, incubated at Washington, which 
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