GOOD SEED

C. E. MYERS, STATE COLLEGE, PA.

Assistant Professor, Experimental Vegetable Gardening, Pennsylvania State

College

Of the several factors concerned in the production of vegetables, that of good seed is without doubt the most important, although it is one which frequently does not receive the attention it deserves. Too often if the seed has the general characteristics of the kind desired and is low in price, no further questions are asked - at least not until after it has been sown and it is too late to make a change. Meanwhile the vitality may have proved to be very weak, or, this point being satisfactory, subsequent observation may show that the variety is not the one desired, is badly mixed with other varieties; or the yield and character of the product is not satisfactory.

In most instances undesirable results of this kind could be eliminated had proper precautions been taken at the right time. In the first place it is unreasonable to expect a high-grade product at an unreasonably low price. It may happen that not always is

the price charged and the quality of the commodity commensurate, but as a general principle there should be and usually is a considerable degree of parallelism between them. Furthermore, the sentiment produced by the attempt to purchase seeds at competition prices is not conducive to much improvement in strains.

At the present time we have no rule by which we can purchase seeds and be assured that they will give the results desired. The general seed catalogues published by the majority of the seedsmen, while fine examples of the printer's art, usually contain little of definite value to guide the prospective purchaser in the selection of the variety or strain he desires. Furthermore, almost every seedsman has a strain which he claims to be the best obtainable, and in some instances the seedsman does make an especial effort to keep his strains pure and true to type. Some of his seeds are grown under his personal supervision, while those grown by contract are in charge of men who have spent years in the business and take special care to keep the stocks pure. As a check on this work some seedsmen maintain trial grounds in order that they may acquire personal knowledge of the various stocks before they are disseminated among their customers. Other seedsmen may publish catalogues equally as attractive and make as strong claims concerning the merits of their strains, while as a matter of fact they may never have seen the stock from which it was produced or even know where or by whom grown, but simply have purchased the seed in bulk from a jobber, securing it at the lowest possible price.

Another practice far too common in the seed business is that of renaming varieties. In a test of cabbage conducted by the writer last year, the variety Jersey Wakefield, which has been on the market since about 1840, was grown under the name of Early Pointed, Earliest, Standard Early and New Greenpack. In each case the seed was purchased a few months previous to the time it was sown and was thought to be a distinct variety.

In view of the uncertainty concerning the purchase of seeds, it should need little argument to show the importance of making a preliminary test to determine the relative merits of the variety or strain previous to the time it is expected to be used for the general planting. In order to make this test of value, seed of the

same variety should be secured from different sources, having enough from each to make the general planting the following year in case it proved satisfactory. Having secured the seed, a germination test should be made of each to determine its value in this respect as well as to obtain an index to the rate of sowing. This germination test will probably show some variations within. strains, while the vigor of the seedlings will also probably vary as may be seen by Fig. 376.

When the field planting is made, fifty plants will be sufficient. As they approach maturity, a study of the respective strains will show differences regarding general type, time of maturity, solidity of head and general productiveness. In order to secure accurate data, weighings should be made of the heads of the respective strains. The following table shows the variability of six strains of Jersey Wakefield cabbage grown the past season, each of which was purchased from a seedsman of good reputation.

Strain 6 was secured from a private grower on Long Island who advertised seed for sale at $5 per pound, with the understanding that the purchaser could sow half of it, and if he was not pleased with the result at the close of the season could return the part which remained and have the charge canceled, or if it proved satisfactory pay the advertised price. A study of the table shows that the seed was the best of the test, and from the standpoint of earliness of maturity was far superior to strain 4. In fact it will be seen that the difference in the financial value of the crop at the first cutting from one acre would approximate $140. The test also shows that some of the other strains were quite desirable. Thus when the general planting is made the following year it may be done with the assurance that the seed sown will give reasonably good results. Certainly there are few operations with which the gardener is concerned which will yield. as large returns for the time and money invested.

Fig. 377 shows the variation in strains of Charleston Wakefield cabbage, each of which was secured from a different seedsman. In this discussion we have concerned ourselves only with the good seed question with respect to cabbage. However, there is abundant evidence to substantiate the belief that the facts here illustrated are applicable to vegetable crops in general as well as to farm crops.