SELECTING KITCHEN GARDEN SEEDS.

Waikato Times, Volume VI, Issue 316, 23 May 1874, Page 3

SELECTING KITCHEN GARDEN SEEDS.

"A CORRESPONDENT of the Journal of Eorficitliurc has recited, under the title 'My Seed Orders — a Retrospect,' his enrly and later experiences in keeping his employer's table regularly supplied with every kind of vegetable in its season. Twenty years ago how he longed for the time when lie should become head man ; how fee would change the oldfishionod way*, nn'l how he would it ike out of the groove thnt hi 9 hard-headed grey-haired chief had moved in. To be sure (ho acknowledge!) > ho was always safe, (hero was no getting over that, but then what was it? Wliy, only the same things over again. The youth and bis friends determined fcbnt whenever it came to their turn to manage, they would present ' his lordship ' with ' new kinds,' and would have plenty of these 'to follow one another.' The red beet wns of one kind only ; but then no complaints were made of tlio colour or quality ; and of lettuce only two sorts were grown, hut these were sown at certain intervals, and it was the old gnrdener's pride ' nivver to be wihoot sallet.' Tho joiin^ men were quite shocked at the waste occasioned by the surplus lettuces running to seed, and resolved, when<»or they should attain power, to bave a regular succession <>t ne>v kinds that could hardly be induced to run to seed it all • Worst of all, however, were the peas. lam afraid it made our blood crawl when we thought about it ; and we wore almost ashamed to admit the fact that in a fine fourjici ed garden were only three or, at the most, four sorts relied on to supply the regular great demand. It is true a few odd pints of new ones were obtained for trial now and then, and everybody could see their superiority but the ' old fossil ; ' and then the three great bags would come as usual, mm ked Early Frame, Champion of England, and Ne Plus Ultra, with a few quarts over of British Queen. Early Frame we knew was a long way in arrear as the times went, the new ones being a week or ten days in advance, and we actually labelled t it the ' Old Snail ; ' and in the following May, and as if to make us ashamed of ourselves, the ' Old Snail ' gave us a good dish on the 18th day in the north of England, and it was seldom after the 25th that we had to wait for* a peek. Champion of England we had a little more respect for, it being in Bendigo's time, who had the ' circle of the rmg 1 in the bothy, otherwise it was druidical, and not what the nineteenth century peas bad come to. •Ne Plus' was very well; but row after row was surfeiting. We liked 'British Queen' better, being so much sweeter to cat out of the poda as we gathered. No doubt we hnd an abundance of peas to gather every day from May until scTere frost set in ; but then baring tbe same old sorts over ngam are unbearablo, and I think we added unprofessional. In a garden like that we would have 15 or 20 varieties to ' follow one another,' and his lordship should have ' the best,' instead of being kept to the common ones year after year. The old chief had a regular crochet about his peas ; and if ho could not get the first sowing in on the sth of November, not many things on tho place were right, no people either. On the arrival of this day we knew the order — it was probably 40 years old. This was it exactly :—: — ' Na, lads, let's ha t'peas — it's 'fift agean. G-efc all t'labels written — three Frames, seven Champions, five Ne Plus, and one Queen, and that'll do for t'season. Ay nivver been wihoot peas l'all ma time, an' ha nivver sal be sticking to t'told sorts an' 16 sawings.'" This paragraph about tbe peas id a fair sample of the fint letter, and our readers will readily imagine what follows. The Journal's correspondent acknowledges that he never had 'a more trusty friend, nor a more s fe and reliable teacher, or his lordship a more competent and faithful servant. His motto was — ' A few things, and good, to depend on, and of these a »trong lot ;' while for fancy it may be summed up — ' A» many as you like, but not much of each. The advico was tested, and 20 years' experience has led the Journal's corresponneht to acknowledge its value. He grows, to be sure, three sorts of cabbages instead of one (which he unwisely lost and could never recover), but he has only added one iort to his lot of peas, and can almost manage with a single variety of cauliflower. The old black-seeded Bath cos lettuce, and the hardy green are still pronounced the bett for his locality, and in beans and onions old sorts are still relied on. The moral is — ' Never throw away an old crutch till you are sure you have found an equally good new one." Of the value of this advice we may all assure ourselves by visiting at different seasons of the year the gardens (or the carts in the market) of those who are amongst the most successful market-gardeners. We shall find that they grow only a few varieties of each veget able— of some sorts only one — but they keep tho market Mipphed with articles of good and uniform quality all the } car round. Thpy are enabled to do this only by sticking to varieties whose constitution and habit of growth they hu\e pro\ed and can roly upon.