214 ANNUAL. REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



MR. DAVIS: I know of samples that were sent to our experi- 

 ment station at State College, and we didn't get an answer for six 

 months. 



PROF. DUVEL: I know that your facilities are limited at State 

 College. 



MR. CRAWFORD : I have got prices on goods now. Can you tell 

 me which is the best? Is there any way to determine that? 



PROF. DUVEL: So far as the trade names are concerned, they 

 mean absolutely nothing, but there is quite a difference in the prices; 

 it is a way they have of grading them. But to say they tell ab- 

 solutely nothing, it is probably putting it a little too strong. Per- 

 sonally I think a seedsman that is in the business, if he makes up 

 his mind that he is going to sell only a good quality of seeds, sell 

 only the very best, he is going to build up his trade. 



PROF. BUTZ: Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that I do not 

 know of any sample of seed that has been lying at State College 

 for six months, and they all would have to come to me if they had 

 come there for a test. I want to say that arrangements have been 

 made for tests whenever asked for. A germination test requires 

 about ten days in order to complete the test, but if it is specified 

 that they siniply want to know the quality of the seed it will take 

 but a very short time. I would like to know from Brother Davis 

 where that seed was sent from; perhaps he would prefer to tell me 

 privately. 



MR. DAVIS: Mr. Chairman, I would say to Dr. Butz that maybe 

 I am mistaken, but as I understood it, the man sent up a sample, 

 and then wrote again and got a reply, and it took some six months. 



MR. HOWDEN: Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the Professor 

 if the farmer couldn't do some of this work himself. 



PROF. DUVEL: Yes, certainly he could. I took a quantity of 

 these seeds, twenty-five in each lot, I counted that many out very 

 readily and in aboiit ten days one of the lots germinated strong; the 

 leaves looked dark and healthy, while the others would hardly 

 germinate; the lowest priced seed was the one that did not germi- 

 nate. I very readily tested them and I took the other seed at half 

 a dollar higher. Now you can determine with a strong microscope 

 just how they appear. 



The farmer can test them, for weed seeds very well; he has to 

 have a little magnifying glass. The way we do to make an ex- 

 amination, we take ordinarily about five grammes, that makes prob- 

 ably a teaspoonful or something like that. We then take a number 

 of checks that these represent, showing the quality of the samples, 

 and we simply put them down on a piece of white paper and go at 

 them with a pair of forceps, and then these three different parts 

 are weighed. A farmer can do that himself, or any man can do that 

 and get a very good idea. Separate those which had the good clover 

 seed and get those out by themselves, and then the weed seeds, 

 and get the two piles together and estimate the amounts. Of 

 course it is quite an important factor in that case to know these 



