Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

WORK ON A SEED FARM. 81 important operations in growing crops for seeds is the removal of what are termed “ rogues,” i.e. plants of a different variety from that which is supposed to be under culture. Many of these are reversions to inferior varieties, but some are decided im- provements. The poor ones are withdrawn and thrown to the rubbish heap, and the very occasional promising plant has a dis- tinguishing mark placed upon it for special saving, as has been previously described. The “ rogueing ” is not the work of skill that saving plants for stock seeds is, and it is done by ordinary workers, who have but to grasp the features of the variety and then remove all others. It, of course, requires care, and is not the most pleasant of work, as it is done in the summer, sometimes under a broil- ing sun, which strikes down upon the back of the worker without the least obstruction. One of the aids to the pro- duction of new varieties of flowers and vegetables is shown in the illustration of one of Messrs. Suttons’ houses of Chinese Primulas. There may be seen two men fertilis- ing the flowers. In this case the flowers are being inoculated with the pollen from another flower of the same variety, and the object is to insure a good “ set ” of seed. Fertilisation on outdoor plants is conducted through the natural agencies of wind and insects, amongst the latter being bees, who in this respect render immense service. Supposing Messrs. Sutton desired, as they have many times, to raise a new variety, they would fertilise any one variety with the pollen from some dissimilar variety ; thus, the pollen of a red primula may be applied to the flower of a white one, and so on. The result may be flowers that are distinct from their parents, or, though similar in colour, superior in other respects. In such cases they would be saved ; but if showing no advance they would be destroyed. The arts of hybridisation and cross-fertilisa- tion, artificially conducted, are not the only things which bring us novelties for our gar- dens. A plant may “ sport,” i.e. throw up one flower that differs entirely from every other on the same plant. If this is good, every endeavour is made to “ fix ” it, and a new variety is secured. Chrysanthemums are amongst the “ sportive ” plants, and it is a curious fact in relation to them that the same variety may “ sport ” in two or three gardens hundreds of miles apart, and the fresh flower will be similar in each instance. Observation, too, has given us many an excellent improvement. For example, when Messrs. Carter bought the stock of “Tele- graph ” Pea from a Mr. Culverwell, they sent the seeds to their Essex farms to be grown. The man in charge was keenly observant, and, seeing round and wrinkled seeds, he separated them carefully. The result was a distinct A FIELD OE OXIONS GROWING FOR SÉED (CARTER’S). variety, which was named “ Telephone.” The well-known green pea “ Duke of Albany ” also came from “ Telegraph.” A gardener named Abbot noticed one pod on a row of “Telegraph” that was much finer than any other, and he saved it. There were eight seeds, and every one gave a different variety, but one only was good. This was tended with special care, was selected and re-selected, until “ Duke of Albany ” was secured. Novelties, even though of great beauty, do not always bring riches to their raiser, as is proved by the fact that the man who gave us the beautiful and indispensable Golden Feather only received two Geraniums for the stock of it. This, of course, was many years ago, and a man would receive much better treatment nowadays. The coming of Golden Feather was one of the mysteries of plant life, for