“Not to speak of the doubtful instances of seeds taken from the Pyramids having germinated, melons have been known to grow at the age of 40 years, kidney beans at 100, sensitive-plant at 60, rye at 40; and there are now growing, in the garden of the Horticultural Society, raspberry
plants raised from seeds 1600 or 1700 years old.” (See “Introduction to Botany,” ed. 3, p. 358.)
But in selecting seeds, fresh ones should be had if possible. Where, however, the vegetable is cultivated for the sake of its flower, or its fruit, it is sometimes better to select old seed. Thus balsamines (the touch-me-not) and the cucumber, squash and melon tribe do better on seeds three or four years old; for fresh seeds produce plants whose growth will be too luxuriant for producing fruit; whereas from old seed, the plants have less vigor of growth but a greater tendency to fruit well.
We insert a table, exhibiting the years which different seeds will retain their vitality.
| TIME THAT SEEDS WILL KEEP. | |
|---|---|
| YEARS. | |
| Asparagus | 4 or 13 |
| Balm | 2 |
| Basil | 1 or 3 |
| Beans | 1 or 2 |
| Beets | 8 or 10 |
| Borage | 2 |
| Cabbage | 6 or 8 |
| Carrot | 1 or 7 |
| Celery | 6 or 8 |
| Corn | 2 or 3 |
| Cress | 2 |
| Cucumber | 8 or 10 |
| Caraway | 4 |
| Fennel | 6 |
| Garlic | 3 |
| Leek | 3 or 4 |
| Lettuce | 3 or 4 |
| Mangel Wurtzel | 8 or 10 |
| Marjoram | 4 |
| Melon | 8 or 10 |
| Mustard | 3 or 4 |
| Nasturtium | 2 or 3 |
| Onion | 3 |
| Parsley | 5 or 6 |
| Parsnip | 1 |
| Pea | 2 or 3 |
| Pumpkin | 8 or 10 |
| Pepper | 5 or 6 |
| Radish | 6 or 8 |
| Rue | 3 |
| Ruta Baga | 4 |
| Salsify | 2 |
| Savory | 3 or 4 |
| Spinage | 3 or 4 |
| Squash | 8 or 10 |
| Turnip | 3 or 4 |
FARMERS’ GARDENS.
Farmers are apt to have very inferior gardens. The idea is, that in the spring they have no time; the farm crops are of more importance. In consequence of such a decision, no garden will be had unless the housewife is willing to be gardenwife too. At her importunity at length one horse is put to the plow and the garden is broken up—say four inches deep. Possibly the boy is allowed to throw up the beds, but very often even this is left to woman’s hand. She has to hunt up seed; peppers are pulled off from the ceiling and eviscerated; drawers are ransacked for the bag of radish seed or the paper of lettuce seed; the old broken pitcher is taken from its long seclusion on the top of the cupboard and emptied of its beans and peas; withal a few flower seeds are added to grace the stock—four o’clocks; poppies, marigolds, and touch-me-nots. Our gardenwife is not so admirable for lily hands or fair face, or fairy form. She cannot walk over dewy flowers without crushing them, as can a true heroine; for her specific gravity gives evidence of a good constitution, health and habits.
Her praise is, that in a new country where woman unquestionably suffers the most of hardships, she is cheerful, contented, industrious, enterprising, and, like women the world over, seeks to draw around herself objects of taste and beauty to decorate and cheer her husband’s and her children’s home; and, if necessary, to do it by the field-labor of her own hands. We could not forbear saying so much of the meritorious gardener of more than half the rural gardens in the West.