Mai/ 2, 1908.] AgricuUm^al Gazette of N.S.JF, 389 



Notes from the Botanical Laboratory. 

 ha^ykesbury agricultural college. 



Rhodes Grass Seed {Chloris gayana,Yd.\'.) 



C. T. MUSSON. 



A SAMPLE of tlie above seed having lieeii submitted for exaiiiiiiation by 

 Mr. Sylvester Browne, the results are thought to be worth recording, 

 seeing that we have no jiublished details with regard to its v;duL' in seeds 

 present and their vitality. 



Character and proportion of actual seed to chaff. 



Tlie flowers are small and come away from the supporting stalk in two's 

 or three's. If two, then only one good seed is usually formed. If three, 

 there may be two seeds, l)ut one of them will be small. The seeds are 

 remarkably small for the size of the grass. They are spindle-shaped and 

 reddi.sli l^rown, weak seeds being short and whitish. In size and number, 

 per lb., they come near the Poa grasses. The numbers given have been 

 carefully Avorked over, but when dealing with such light and numerous 

 seeds the results can only be considered as approximations ; still they may 

 be taken as sufficiently correct for all practical 2)urposes. 



Pounds to the bushel ... . . ... ... !^* 



Flowers in the pound 2,940,000 



(Of these half ra^y be expected to produce seed.) 



Actual seeds found in 1 lb. of " seed " ... 583,000 



Percentao-e of actual seeds to total number of 



a 



flowers, about ... ... ... ... 20 



Germination capacity (vitality). 



Percentage of actual seeds that germinated, i.e., 



of the 58-3,000 seeds present in each pound 



of seed there germinated in each 100 ... 69 



Percentage germinated seeds out of the total 



number of flowers, about ... ... 14 



Total number of plants obtainable from 1 lb. 



of this seed, about 402,000 



The seeds come away very easily from the chaff and are readily 

 examined and counted with the help of a pocket lens. 



Quantity required for sowing. 



In consequence of its liaving come so recently into cultivation, there is 

 no guide in tlic use of this particular species as to quantity required for 

 sowing. It is not an uncommon tiling to use 40 lb. of mixed grass seed 

 per acre. Tins, however, would allow for "top" and "Ijottom" grasses, 



* This Hght "seed" is very ditticalt to pack in the measure, consequently difTerent 

 observers will usually obtain different residts. 



