io82 KiRAL .School Lkaflet 



SEED TESTING 



For the purpose of making the work in seed testing more simple in the 

 beginning, we have decided to postpone publishing the first article imtil 

 next fall. There will then be opportunity to become familiar with the 

 work during the winter, in time for the testing of seeds to be sown next 

 spring. Meanwhile the coming summer may be used to good advantage 

 in collecting and studying weed seeds and the various kinds of farm seeds. 

 We hope every school will supply itself with a tripod magnifier, as was 

 suggested in the January leaflet. It will greatly aid in the seed study. 

 The better the preparation for seed testing is, the better the results wiU 

 be, and the more quickly they will Ije realized. Consequently we feel 

 it ^^•ise to wait for the opening of the next school year to start the work. 



FIVE WEEDS AND THEIR SEEDS 



Editors' note. — Descriptions of five weeds and illustrations of their 

 seeds are given below. All of these weeds are very serious jjests, and 

 their seeds are frequently found in farm seeds. During the simimer it 

 would be well to make a special study of these weeds and of their seeds in 

 order that they be instantly recognized. With the exception of the one 

 of the black bindweed, the descriptions were prepared by Professor Paxil 

 J. White, and have been published in the leaflets of former years. 



White daisy. — The white daisy is a perennial ; therefore it lives more 

 than two years. The roots are rather shallow and branching. The plant 

 propagates itself to a limited extent by means of underground stems. 

 The seeds of daisies are produced in flat-topped heads, which closely 

 resemble the heads of sunflowers. There is a large number of seeds 

 in each head. White daisies are common in pastures and meadows in 

 New York State, and especially in those which have not been recently 

 plowed. During the last weeks of June and the first weeks of July, many 

 fields are white with daisies. They are cut with the grass at haymaking 

 time, and cured with the hay. If cut before they are too old and tough, 

 they are eaten by cattle with apparent relish. In pastures sheep and 

 even cows will eat daisies although they prefer grass and clover. If a 

 field once becomes infested with daisies, the only cure is to plow the soil 

 and grow on it a cultivated crop, such as com or potatoes, for one or two 

 years. 



Grass and clover seed used on the farm often contains daisy seeds. 

 The use of weed-infested farm seeds is largely responsible for the spread 

 of troublesome weeds. Good seeds cost a little more, but they are always 

 safer to use. 



Sour dock. — Sour dock is an unsightly weed that is common by the 

 roadside and about farm buildings. It is found also in old meadows that 



