B. P. I.— 311. 



liMPORTI-I) LOW-GRADl- CLOVER AXl) 



ALFALFA SLLl). 



INTRODUCTION. 



Diirin>i: the calendar year 190G the United States exported 8,615,873 

 pounds of clover seed, and during the hitter half of the same year 

 imported 6,306,561 pounds, the exports for the year hein*:: only a 

 a little more than one-half the imports for six months. The same 

 condition holds true with alfalfa seed, the imports far exceedin<]i; the 

 exports. The relatively large importation of these seeds results 

 from short crops in this country and a constantly increasing demand 

 on account of the new land l)eing brought under cultivation and the 

 extension of diversified farming. 



Illustrations of typical samples of imported wd clover and alfalfa 

 seed of good quality antl that of low graile are shown in Plate I. 



WHY LOW-GRADE SEED IS IMPORTED. 



In Europe seed testing has been gradually growing in favor for 

 forty years and is now recognized as an imj)ortant aid to agriculture. 

 All the European countries, with the exception of Spain and Turkey, 

 have seed-testing stations, varpng in number from one in Italy to 

 twenty-eight in Germany. Each of them has the necessary equip- 

 ment for making complete tests of seed, both for mechanical purity 

 and for germination. 



The test for mechanical purity as conducted in these stations 

 includes not onh' the determination of the percentage of pure seed 

 and of other seeds and dirt, but also the size and source of the seed. 

 The source of the seed is determined by the characteristic weed seeds 

 wliich are found. Wliile errors are no doubt made, these determi- 

 nations are of great value in showing that at least a part of the 

 seed was raised in a certain section, and they furnish information as 

 to the probable adaptability of the seed to local conditions. Through 

 the work of these stations the people have come to appreciate the 

 importance of good seed, and as the greater part of that now used in 

 Europe is sold on the basis of accurate tests for mechanical purity and 

 germination the sale of low-grade seed has been greatly reduced. 



A similar condition exists in Canada, where there is a strict law 

 governing the quality of seed sold. In tliis country, however, only 



HI— III 5 



