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Re: Subject: Thompson & Morgan's Poor quality seeds

      If I have any complains about T & M, there are none about the
quality of the seeds.                              The rest of Mr.
Stewart's letter is all too familar. Even though I respectfully "resent"
being called a "neophyte" and an "inexperianced amature", it is I know,
difficult to criticize politely, especially since one need not practice
politeness on one's own self (okay, guess what dumb monkey "gibbed" the
Corydalis this year!). Honestly I think maybe we are all beginners every
time we take on a new plant.             I am constantly spared the
taste of my own well-manured shoeleather by being the first to remind me
that that is exactly what I am is a beginner, and any failure very
likely rests not with the seeds, nor the vendors, but with me.
Perseverance has proved this time and again.                 I could
have clogged mailboxes with complaints, literally, over germination
failures; I have been priveleged enough however to have received enough
seed from Mr. Stewart and many other fine merchants to have realized the
minute my second year of serious gardening began that his advice here is
generally very solid. I sometimes have to strain to imagine that not
everyone may have been priveleged enough to also observe this.  
       I am normally given to such fiery shades of easily-misconstrued
consumer advocacy as to rejoice in whimsical Archibaldian bashing of
"Dandelion Experts", or respectfully define "neophyte" as someone who
puts out a catalog with decriptions or near-descriptions when the fact
is if you have to tell me any more than the binomial, let's assume I
just don't have the literature, so please (sigh) could you start from
the very beginning? (ie, Neophytes are thus Made, and not Hatched.)
      Nonetheless, I honestly have to stand by the merchants here, and I
respectfully encourage others to strive for more a wee bit more
sophistication.              In fact, the Stewarts' efforts to educate
people through catalog literature are highly commendable; the Arrowhead
catalog features one of the better troubleshooting lists that I've seen,
if not the best.         Poetically, perhaps, seeds are like fine wines
and we should maybe be concerned with thier Vintage as opposed to their
Freshness. They are also to be sipped, so to speak- that is, if you're
not absolutely sure about the seed's requirements, start with very few
and try to "hedge" away safely as many as possible. 
      Further, like fine wines, they are to be treasured. Anyone who
cannot bear to believe they just spent seven bucks for dead seed should
magically find the tenacious patience required for success, as well as
the patience for avoiding registering premature and unwarranted
complaints all over the place about freshness and viability. Obviously,
this works regardless of the price.
       (If this all sounds too ritzy, posh or bougiosse, just remember,
there may be some dung-shoveling involved, which, like fine wines, good
gardeners also prefer in "Vintage," I'm told) 
      Those who refuse to accept the reality of "dead" seeds will
likewise be effortlessly driven to apply ingenuity and to observe
chance. I recommend from experience to spinkle any supposedly "dead"
seed flats on a plot of soil so they will have one last opportunity, as
opposed to ever treating them as garbage. Try to plan ahead for this and
arrange the contents of the flats or the plot so as not to confuse
similar plants that you might be seeing for the first time. Even if it
takes another year, the results can be almost amazing, and certainly
rewarding.                   I am hearing more and more from others also
about seeds which will just not accept artificial conditions, and thus
require the great outdoors. Silly neophyte that I am, I'm almost
surprised. (Today George Stevens shared with me a suggestion to foil an
outdoor culprit in germination failure: Using window screens to keep
precious germplasm from becoming birdseed.)
      Finally, most merchants depend on happy customers to return every
year and to generously distribute glowing testimonals. I've encountered
few if any who have making a fast buck at the top of their list, (let's
face it, they'd be in another business) and my faith in that fact is
consistently rewarded. I am often surprised at the pains that they take
to assure quality seed.
                    (Sincerely,) 
                     Pseudoneophytus contentious
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