No. 7. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICUL.TTJRE. 209 



the same as many of them give the small packages of mixed flower 

 seeds with every purchase amounting to |1 or more. 



It is not uncommon to find commercial red clover seed which con- 

 tains a relatively high percentage of timothy. In such cases the 

 dealer generally succeeds in convincing the farmer that the presence 

 of timothy seed will improve the quality of the pasture and the h^y. 

 This may or may not be true, but whenever you find such seed on 

 the market you can rest assured that the dealer is selling you timothy 

 seed at clover seed price? If you wish to sow a mixture of clover 

 and timothy, buy the desired quantity of timothy seed, the best of 

 which should be bought for two or three cents per pound and do 

 your own mixing, thereby saving ten or twelve cents per pound on 

 all the timothy seed sown. The presence of more than a trace of 

 timothy seed means one of two things — either the mixing has been 

 done intentionally in order to increase the profits, or the seed has 

 not been cleaned and is probably a fair indication that innumerable 

 weed seeds are present. 



Pure Red Clover Seed. — By pure seed is meant the amount of 

 whole seed of the kind examined whether it be immature and shriv- 

 eled, discolored or good plump seed. The only matter excluded be- 

 ing the broken seed, dirt, stones, sticks, chaff, etc., and all seeds not 

 of the kind examined. Sample Number 2 in Chart I, shows 98 per 

 cent, of pure seed, and there is no reason why a good grade of red 

 clover seed should be less than this. Sample Number 1, however, 

 while not so high in either purity or germination, is given first place 

 owing to the absence of weed seeds. The .3 per cent, of foreign 

 seed as indicated in sample Number 1 consists of alsike clover and 

 a few timothy seeds, which are not objectionable when present in 

 such small quantities. 



The amount of pure seed contained in samples Numbers 6 and 7 

 is only 77.1 and 64.2 per cent., respectively. Such samples as these 

 are considered as very low-grade seed, yet thousands of pounds of 

 seed of this character are being sold every year, and many lots of 

 even lower grades. 



Germination. — There is probably no factor in crop production of 

 more importance than the vitality of the seed sown. At the same 

 time it is equally true that there is no factor more frequently over- 

 looked. If the seed is not of good strong vitality the resulting crop 

 is certain to be a failure. Look, if you please at samples Number 6 

 and 7 in Chart I; the former germinated 68 per cent, and the latter 

 71. .5 per cent. With the low percentage of purity and germination 

 the actual value of the former is 52.4 per cent, and of the latter 45.9 

 per cent, (the percentage of purity multiplied by the percentage of 

 germination). Either of these Avould result in a failure to get a 

 stand, even under favorable conditions. Sample Number 3 which 

 has a purity of 93.9 per cent, germination only 80.5 per cent., mean- 

 ing an actual value of only 75.6 per cent.; i. e., when seeding at the 

 rate of twelve pounds per acre, only nine pounds of germinable seed 

 would be applied. As an extreme case compare sample number 3 

 in Chart III which shows 218 per cent, of pure seed v/hich ger- 

 minated 81.5 per cent, giving the sample an actual value of 17.8 

 per cent. And still more extreme is the sample of alfalfa shown 

 in Chart III, column 6 which contained 23.5 per cent, of pure seed 

 14—7—1906 



