SEED TRADE. Seeds are the keystone to the agricultural and horticultural industry, an industry which is vital to the life and prosperity of every country. The responsibility resting on the shoulders of those who grow and distribute these essential articles is therefore a heavy one. Factors operating in the pro duction of satisfactory food crops include seed, soil fertilisers, cultural methods, weather and control of insects and disease. By far the most important of these is the supply of seeds. More over seeds must be of suitable stocks or strains, have a high vitality and be free from disease and weed seeds. To ensure that the demand for high quality seeds is met is the constant study and duty of the seed trade.
The Seed Grower.—To give an adequate representation of the activities of the trade, it is necessary to refer, in the first place, to the seed grower on whom the trade relies, to a large extent, for the production of its supplies, although many seeds men grow large quantities of seed on their own ground. Seed growing is a highly specialised branch of agriculture which re quires the best intelligence and the exercise of considerable skill. A suitable soil and climate is a primary consideration. The "stock," "foundation" or "mother" seed, used must be of the highest quality and, in particular, it must be absolutely pure as regards variety. In growing the seed crop, the best cultural prac tices must he employed and care must be taken to ensure ade quate isolation from growing crops of a similar kind in order to prevent cross-pollenation with inferior or allied plants. Control of insects and other pests is effected by the use of sprays and other methods. During the growing season, especially when the seed crop is approaching maturity, all plants which show char acteristics dissimilar to those of the particular variety under cultivation are carefully removed—a process known as "roguing." Plants of the same species found growing along the margin of the field are also cut down before they develop a flowering head and thus endanger the purity of the seed crop by cross-fertilisation. Harvesting the crop when it has reached the proper stage of maturity calls for great care and experience. Unripe seeds give unsatisfactory results and an over-ripe crop will lead to serious loss by shedding. Methods of curing and threshing vary accord ing to the kind of seed produced, each calling for special knowl edge and many for particular treatment.
Seed-growers fall roughly into two classes, the one furnishes his own "stock" seed and sells his produce to the seed merchant, the other is supplied by the seed merchant with "stock" seed which is grown under a form of contract. The latter class ranges
from the large established grower down to the small tenant farmer who has built up a reputation which enables the seed merchant to enter with confidence into a contract for the growing of his "stock" seed.
The Plant Breeder.—Before passing from the subject of the production of seed, mention should be made of the plant breeder whose business it is to create new and improved strains and varieties. This work is largely in the hands of official or semi official establishments, experiment stations, crop improvement associations and the like, although much is also done by the seeds men themselves. These have been responsible in recent years for marked improvements in the yield, early maturity, disease resistance, adaptability, ability to withstand frost and drought and other important characteristics of many kinds of plants.