THE PRINCIPLES OF SEED-TESTING 485 



recommendation has remained a dead letter in Great Britain. 

 A Government Station was already in existence in Ireland when 

 the Committee was appointed, and so far some 6,ooo samples of 

 seed have been tested by it. 



The revelations of fraud and ignorance published in 1875 by 

 Nobbe in his Handbuch der Samenkunde led to vigorous action, 

 and Seed-testing Stations were started in nearly every country 

 in the world, mostly under Government control. At the present 

 time there are some 150. 



The object of each Station is to assist the seedsmen and the 

 farmers in securing the best and purest seed for agricultural or 

 other purposes. Evidence abounds to prove that where in any 

 trade ithere is a demand for inferior goods the supply will be 

 forthcoming, and that where there is ignorance on the buyer's 

 side the seller will, in too many cases, take advantage of it and 

 try to profit by it. These statements are not universally appli- 

 cable in the seed trade. They hold true, however, to such an 

 extent as to necessitate the existence of Seed-testing Stations 

 to determine for all parties concerned the nature of the goods 

 under sale. 



The accompanying illustrations are made from samples of 

 seed on sale in Ireland this year, and tested in this Station. 

 It is not necessary to label the good and bad kinds. While in 

 appearance and price there is little to distinguish the two 

 kinds of seeds from one another the test shows an enormous 

 difference. 



As many of my readers are probably not familiar with the 

 qualities which characterise a good seed, or with the procedure 

 followed in ascertaining these points, I propose in the follow- 

 ing lines to describe briefly the more important points. In 

 examining a sample of seed one's attention is directed to — 



1. The Genuineness 



By this is meant that the seed is really what it is described 

 as being. A farmer who orders meadow fescue and is 

 supplied with the much cheaper perennial rye, is defrauded. 

 The two seeds are very similar in appearance, and lend them- 

 selves to deception. A farmer who orders turnip seed and 

 receives the cheaper rape, loses money in the purchase, and 

 further gets a crop of green tops instead of fleshy roots. 



