12 THE SEEDS OF THE BLUEGRASSES. 



The foreign trade is much more critical than the domestic trade, and 

 the seed exported usuall}^ weighs from 22 to Si pounds per bushel, 

 while the domestic trade is content with seed weighing from 18 to 20 

 pounds. The heavier seed costs more per pound than the lighter seed, 

 since there is more labor in its preparation, but it is cheaper for the 

 purchaser. 



GERMINATION. 



The germination of commercial l)luegrass seed is often poor. At 

 the Zurich Seed Control Station the average percentage from 3,069 

 samples of Kentucky bluegrass seed tested from 1876 to 1901: was 65 

 per cent, while 908 samples of Poa trivialis tested showed an average 

 of 72 per cent. The qualit}^ of Kentucky bluegrass seed as respects 

 germination appears, however, to be improving. Last year's tests at 

 the Zurich station gave an average of 68 per cent, while a few years 

 ago 50 per cent was considered fair or satisfactor3\ Only the best 

 seed goes to Europe, and consequently the percentage of germination 

 of that offered in this country is low. As carefully cured seed will 

 germinate from 80 to 90 per cent, the cause for the poor quality of 

 commercial seed is doubtless to be found in the way it is harvested and 

 cured. ^' The usual process is to pile the freshly stripped seed in ricks, 

 either outdoors or in barns. This mass heats quickly if not stirred 

 often during the first few days. One pile left without stirring reached 

 a temperature of 110'-' F. in sixteen hours, killing all the seed. 



GROWING AND HANDLING. 



With the exception of our native western species, more or less seed 

 of all the commercial Poas is gathered in Europe, where they are 

 found wild. The harvesting is done by hand from the natural mead- 

 ows, woods, or other uncultivated areas. The seed is cleaned by hand 

 and carried to market in small quantities and collected by dealers who 

 supply the trade. The United States furnishes Europe with Kentucky 

 bluegrass seed, and Europe furnishes the seed of rough-stalked meadow 

 grass and wood meadow grass, as well as of the other commercial 

 species of Poa used in this countr}". 



Poa j}ratensis (Kentucky bluegrass). — The blilk of the Kentucky 

 bluegrass seed comes from a limited area known as the bluegrass 

 region of Kentuck}'. The counties of Bourbon, Scott, Fayette, Clark, 

 and Woodford furnish most of it, although there is a small quantity 

 saved in Shelby Count3^ Some is harvested in southwestern Illinois, 

 and there is another area on the border between Missouri and Iowa 

 where a considerable amount of seed is saved. The seed is gathered 

 from the natural woodland pastures as well as from those where it has 



«See Bulletin No. 19, Bureau of Plant Industry, "Kentucky Bluegrass Seed: Har- 

 vesting, Curing, and Cleaning." 



