New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 743 



Red top was generally fair in quality, as only one sample out of 

 eight showed more than 3 per ct. of foreign seeds; but all but one 

 ranged high in dirt, one sample showing 36| per ct. of such refuse. 



Nearly 60 samples of timothy were examined, of which only four 

 showed an excess of foreign seeds, but two of these contained respec- 

 tively 17.1 and 38.9 per ct. of such seeds. The worst of these samples 

 also contained 3.8 per ct. of dirt, but all the other samples were 

 very good in this regard. 



The summer vetch sample was very good, but the one of winter vetch 

 was one-fourth summer vetch. 



Two of the five samples of white clover were poor, showing 93 

 and 74 per ct. purity only; but the others were of good quality. 



Of 1,140 samples received from correspondents 

 Voluntary during 1912 and examined at the Station, 621 were 

 examinations, of alfalfa, 170 of red clover, 150 of timothy, 96 of 

 alsike clover and 47 of miscellaneous seeds. The 

 same general fault was shown in many of these samples as in those 

 of previous years — small size. The small sample very frequently 

 fails to represent accurately the seed from which it is drawn; and 

 the same statement was found to hold true with regard to the adver- 

 tising samples sent out by dealers as representative of the seeds they 

 were handling. No sample of alfalfa seed or clover seed weighing 

 less than two ounces can be considered satisfactory, nor a sample of 

 grass seed or the smaller vegetable seeds that weighs less than one 

 ounce. Quantitative examinations of the voluntary samples could 

 not be made, owing to lack of time; but the principal impurities 

 found in each sample were listed on the report blank, and, if 

 necessary, attention was called to any particularly undesirable 

 weed seeds or to adulterants. 



For seeds in general, adulteration is becoming less 

 Adulteration, common, but, as noted before, several samples of 

 alfalfa, red clover and vetch showed that some 

 foreign material had been added to make weight. Alsike clover 

 seed also showed considerable yellow trefoil seed; but one very bad 

 case of this was found due to presence of the trefoil in the clover 

 field, rather than to addition of the seed. 



Of practically all the kinds of seed examined, the samples indicated 

 more good to excellent seed on the market than poor to fair seed; 

 but in almost every class some samples showed very bad conditions. 

 Among the kinds in which the number of poor samples was low were 

 alfalfa, timothy, redtop, white clover and Kentucky blue grass; 

 while red clover, alsike clover, and hairy vetch showed considerably 

 larger percentages of low-grade samples. Care should be exercised 

 in the purchase of any of these seeds. The poorest seeds on the 

 market are probably the alsike and timothy mixtures. Of 17 samples 

 of this mixture examined every one was graded poor to very poor, 

 since the seed was poorly colored, shriveled and of light weight, and 



