SECRETARY'S REPORT. 153 



their relative weight. And I may remark here that the pre- 

 vailing practice of buying and sowing grass seeds by measure 

 rather than by weight, seems injudicious to say the least. It is 

 well known that old or poor seed weighs less than that which is 

 fresh and new. Now if a farmer buys by weight, even if he 

 does get an old or inferior quality of seed, he gets a much 

 larger number of seeds, and this larger quantity of seed which 

 he receives for his money, may make up for the inferior quality, 

 and he will have a larger number of seeds capable of germina- 

 tion than he would have if he bought by measure. It is to be 

 regretted that it has become so nearly universal to purchase by 

 measure, though as this course is for the seller's advantage, it 

 may be difficult to change the custom. 



The following table, containing the weight per bushel of the 

 seeds of the most important agricultural grasses, has been pre- 

 pared chiefly from a valuable treatise on the grasses by the 

 Messrs. Lawson, of Edinburgh, who have paid much atten- 

 tion to this subject, and whose experience and observation in 

 the practical culture of the grasses has probably been larger 

 and more extensive than those of any other seedsmen. 



This table will be found to be exceedingly valuable for 

 reference. 



Column 1 contains the common names of the grasses. 



Column 2, the average number of pounds in a bushel of the 

 seeds. 



Column 3, the average number of seeds in an ounce. 



Column 4 shows the depth of soil in inches and fractions of 

 an inch at which the greatest number of seeds germinate. 



Column 5 shows the depth of soil in inches and fractions of 

 an inch at which only one-half the seeds germinated. 



Column 6 shows the least depth of soil in inches or frac- 

 tions of an inch at which none of the seeds germinated. 



Column 7 shows the average percentage of loss in the weight of 

 tlie grass in making into hay, when cut in the time of flowering. 



The weight of seeds varies, of course, somewhat, from that 

 stated in the above table, according to their quality. Those 

 given in the table are the average weights of good, merchant- 

 able seed. In some States, as in Wisconsin, for instance, the 

 legal weight of Timothy seed is forty-six pounds to the busheL 

 The weight of a bushel will depend in part, also, upon the 



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