10 THE SEEDS OF THE BLUEGRASSES. 



GRADES AND QUALITY OF COMMERCIAL SEEDS. 



The seeds of all species except Kentucky bluegrass are known to the 

 American trade in only one grade. This is the so-called "fancy" 

 grade, which is based on relative cleanness and on the ])right appear- 

 ance of the seed. The quality of different samples passing under this 

 grade name is not necessarily uniform, but among the more careful 

 dealers a purity standard of from 8U to 90 per cent is usually maintained. 



The seeds of Kentucky bluegrass and of Canada bluegrass raised in 

 this country are usually nmch cleaner and freer from foreign seeds 

 than the European-grown seeds of rough-stalked meadow grass, wood 

 meadow grass, and fowl meadow grass. 



Kentucky bluegrass seed is commonly offered in two grades^ 

 "fancy," and " extra-clean " or "extra-cleaned." The latter names are 

 a survival of the time when the seed was hand cleaned and the "extra- 

 clean " was the best seed on the market. With the advent of improved 

 machinery the "fancy" grade was established and it is now the only 

 grade generally accepted by the intelligent purchaser. The "extra- 

 clean" still on the market belies its name, since it consists of the chaff 

 or cleanings from the fancy seed, and consequently contains onlj' light 

 seed. Samplesof "extra-cleaned" as offered usually contain less than 

 10 per cent of seed. 



In some cases the growers tind a sale for the rough or uncleaned 

 seed after it has been passed through a feed cutter. In this condition 

 it has very much the appearance of fine-cut straw with a large per- 

 centage of chaff, and can be scattered over pastures and other areas, 

 seeding them as effectually as could be done by the use of fancy 

 recleaned seed. If well cured, the germinating quality of such seed 

 is excellent, and the mass contains from 60 to 70 per cent of pure seed. 

 Except for foreign trade the percentage of germination has little to do 

 with the price and grade of bluegrass seed. 



Aside from adulterated samples the purity of "fancy" seed of all 

 species of bluegrass is usuall}^ good. Of the 2,887 samples of Ken- 

 tucky bluegrass tested by the Zurich Seed Control Station from 1876 

 to 1903 the average purity was 86.3 per cent. Of the 69 samples 

 tested in the Seed Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture 

 during the past year the average purity was 75.02 per cent. 



ADULTERATION. 



The seed of Canada bluegrass {Poa compressa) is the only kind 

 used as an adulterant of Kentucky bluegrass in this country. During 

 the year 1904 619,451 pounds of Canada bluegrass seed were imported 

 from Canada, practically none of which is being sold under its true 

 name. Among the samples of seed sold for Kentucln' l)lue"grass and 

 sent to the Seed Laboratory for examination a large number have 



