ped and symmetrical; does it have a goodly
number of fine blossoms? These are questions to ask in seed selection.

"If you boys and girls should happen to have the opportunity to visit a
seedsman's garden, you will see here and there a blossom with a string
tied around it. These are blossoms chosen for seed. If you look at the
whole plant with care you will be able to see the points which the
gardener held in mind when he did his work of selection.

"Last winter we had quite a discussion on corn seed selection. So we
will not discuss that further. Only let me say this for the benefit of
the girls in order to show them the care which must be exercised in
selection. Should a finely formed ear of corn have one or two black
kernels on it, then that shows a cross or taint, do not use such an ear
for the old trouble may crop out. Take an ear of seed corn, notice the
small and rather undersized kernels at the top; do not use these. Select
kernels, the largest, plumpest and best shaped.

"In seed selection size is another point to hold in mind. Suppose Peter
had bought a package of bean seed. Pull the little envelope out of your
pocket, young man, and open it up. Just look at those seeds as Peter
spreads them out here. Now we know no way of telling anything about the
plants from which this special collection of seeds came. So we must give
our entire thought to the seeds themselves. It is quite evident that
there is some choice; some are much larger than the others; some far
plumper, too. By all means choose the largest and fullest seed. The
reason is this: When you break open a bean--and this is very evident,
too, in the peanut--you see what appears to be a little plant. So it is.
Under just the right conditions for development this 'little chap' grows
into the bean plant you know so well.

"This little plant must depend for its early growth on the nourishment
stored up in the two halves of the bean seed. For this purpose the food
is stored. Beans are not full of food and goodness for you and me to
eat, but for the little baby bean plant to feed upon. And so if we
choose a large seed, we have chosen a greater amount of food for the
plantlet. This little plantlet feeds upon this stored food until its
roots are prepared to do their work. So if the seed is small and thin,
the first food supply insufficient, there is a possibility of losing the
little plant.

"You may care to know the name of this pantry of food. It is called a