6 The Bulletin, 



seeds were tested. These tests include all samples submitted by inspec- 

 tors, seed dealers, and farmers. No attempt lias been made to report the 

 results of these tests separately. 



Each spring and fall inspectors are sent out over the State, who col- 

 lect samples from the seed which is offered for sale by our local dealers. 

 These samples are sent to the Seed Laboratory and analyzed. A record 

 of rlu' test is kept permanently and the bulks and test separations are 

 kept on file for at least a year after the results have been published, in 

 order that they may be referred to in case of inquiry. When taking 

 the sample the inspectors make a note of the following items : sale name 

 of seed, retail price, bulk represented by sample, name and address of 

 retail and wholesale dealer and whether licensed or not, and the date 

 the sample is collected. We also request that correspondents when sub- 

 mitting samides giA'e the retail price of the seed and the name and 

 address of wholesale and retail dealer. Thus information is obtained 

 concerning the quality of seed for sale in the State. 



The laboratory is ]irepared to test and report promptly on seed 

 samples submitted. First attention is given to the samples submitted 

 by farmers, next those from dealers, and lastly the inspectors' samples 

 are tested. The laboratory is equipped with all the modern seed-testing 

 apparatus. Hasting's triplet lenses and simple tripod magnifiers, as 

 showji in Fig. 1, are used in the ordinary work of separating the 

 foreign seed and inert matter from the pure seed, and a Zeiss binocular 

 is used for the more critical determinations. An analytical balance, 

 seed sampler and mixer, a vertical air-blast seed separator run by an 

 electric motor, and seed sieves of different sized perforations, are the 

 more important ap])ai'atus used in making the purity tests. The labora- 

 tory has three improved standard germinating chambers heated by 

 electricity and equipped with thermometers, so that it is possible to give 

 the seeds the most favorable temperature for germinating. 



THE PURITY TEST. 



All the different agricultural and vegetable seeds are tested. Tlie 

 germination test is equally impoi'tant for all, but the purity test is far 

 more important for some seeds than for others. The clovers and grasses 

 are more apt to be adulterated and impure than the larger seeds, as due 

 to their size the cleaning is more difficult and impurities cannot so 

 easily be detected, and it is, therefore, more imjiortant that purity tests 

 be made of these seeds. The test for purity consists in determining the 

 per cent of the sample that is true to name, the per cent of foreign seeds, 

 botli weed seeds and other seeds, and tlic per cent of inert matter, by 

 which is meant broken pieces of seeds, dirt, and particles of quartz. 



When the samples are received at the laboratory they are numbered 

 for convenience in filing and for reference. A record is made of the 



