No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUI^TURE. 213 



is deserving of but little respect. In view of this I desire to say, 

 and with considerable emphasis, that our American farmers get 

 from the seedsmen about the quality of the seed they deserve. The 

 demand everyvvhere is cheap seed and it is about time that our 

 farmers were beginning to wake up on the seed proposition and in- 

 stead of demanding cheap seeds, to demand good seed of high purity, 

 strong vitality and free from noxious weeds. 



If you desire seed of good quality, secure samples from your 

 seedsman and send them to your Agricultural Experiment Station 

 and have them examined. But first of all avoid the cheap grades 

 for cheap seed necessarily means seed of low vitality, a large per- 

 centage of screenings, innumerable weed seeds, and the ofificials of 

 your Experiment Station cannot afford to examine samples of this 

 kind. Demand of your seedsman good clean seed of high vitality, 

 and with the assistance of the Director of your Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station, you will get it, 



SEED LEGISLAION. 



Unless our farmers soon begin to realize the importance of sow- 

 ing only high grade seed, the time is not far distant when some leg- 

 islation will be necessary to prevent the sale of adulterated and low 

 grade seed. Europe has had Seed Control for a number of years 

 and the dealers must guarantee purity and germination It 

 is this European Seed Control which is largely responsible for the 

 heavy importations of screenings and low grade seed into the United 

 States. Similarly the recent enactment of a very rigid seed law in 

 Canada has had a like effect. Our choice seed is exported to Canada 

 and to Europe and the screenings from this choice seed are retained 

 for our own sowings. Moreover, the screenings from the Canadian 

 and European seeds are sent into the United States because they 

 cannot use them at home, while they find a ready market for them 

 here. It is to be hoped that our farmers will take this matter into 

 their own hands and avoid legislation by persistently demanding 

 a high grade seed. However, if legislation regulating the sale of 

 agricultural seeds is undertaken it must of necessity be severe in 

 order to be effective. Some of our states already have seed laws in 

 which it is necessary to prove the intention of fraud, which is al- 

 most wholly impossible. The only effective seed laws must be such 

 that any dealer selling or offering for sale seed of a quality other 

 than that which is permissible under the law shall be subject to a 

 fine or imprisonment or both. There is no reason why the seeds- 

 man should not know within certain bounds the quality of the goods 

 he offers for sale just as much as the man who sells fertilizers. 



A Member: If I should send you a sample for examination how 

 soon would you send it back? 



PROF. DUVEL: We try in our work at Washington to accom- 

 modate the farmer. If you tell us that you are in a particular hurry 

 for it, we examine it and send out the answer by telegraph at your 

 expense, of course. For a detailed examination it would take on 

 an average sample — it might take three or four hours to work it 

 out. Sometimes samples have to say in our laboratory a week be- 

 fore we can get to them. 



