340 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Several of the commoner kinds of weed seeds found in alsike clover seed 

 :- very detrimental. Some lots of alsike seed consist largely of timothy, 

 ,lch amounts to an adulterant if the mixture is sold at the price of 

 pure alsike seed. This 

 mixture is poor seed to 

 sow if alsike seed pro- 

 duction is contem- 

 plated; the two crops 

 ripen together and their 

 seed can not be wholly 

 separated. 



Old stocks of seed of 

 the clovers and of alfal- 

 fa having low vitality 

 are often mixed with 

 new seed. Such seed is 

 oiled and 



<-jB^c^ a 



_,■ •±. 4.i,pFiG. 6. — Mixture of seeds of alfalfa (a) 



give XI Liic clover (b), and spotted bur clover 



toothed bur 

 (c). Note the 

 larger size of the bur clover seeds, also the kidney 

 shape of the spotted bur clover seeds, w^hich have 

 the scar near the smaller end. (Enlarged.) 



sometimes 

 rubbed to 



appearance of freshness. 

 Grass Seeds. — The 

 seeds of grasses are subject to various conditions tending to reduce their 

 quality. Adulteration with old seed or chaff of the same kind or with the 

 very similar appearing seeds of other kinds is often practiced and readily 

 escapes detection by both retail dealers and consumers. Accidental mis- 

 branding of grass seed in the trade is doubtless not uncommon. 



Kentucky bluegrass seed is often adulterated with the similar Can- 

 da bluegrass seed or seed of the latter is substituted for the former. 

 See fig. 9.) Again, Kentucky bluegrass seed often has low germinating 

 power, owing to improper methods employed in curing, and it is com- 

 monly very' chaffy. 



Oreharti grass seed is adulterated 

 with seed of meadow fescue, English 

 rye-grass, or with both. (See fig. 10.) 

 Seed of meadow fescue, or English 

 bluegrass, is adulterated with seed of 

 the perennial, or English, rye-grass 

 and with orchard grass chaff. (See 



fig. 10.) 



Awnless (or Hungarian) brome- 



grass {Bromus inermis) seed is adul- 



.terated with meadow fescue and English lye-grass seeds and with 



Fig. 7. — Seeds of field dodder (h^ 

 and red clover (a), showing rel- 

 ative sizes. (Enlarged.) 



