Testing Farm Seeds. 373 



■'The Genniiiatit)!! Test" (p. 30). Sprouting should begin the second 

 day and be completed by the sixth day. At the completion of the sprout- 

 ing, examine seeds which liave not sprouted to determine whether they 

 are hard or soft. In general, the presence of a considerable quantity of 

 hard seed indicates that the sample is one of new seed. The hard seed 

 may amount to 20, 30 or even 50 per cent in red clover seed one year old. 

 Although such hard seed is probably all alive, it is practically w^orthless 

 for seeding. Soft seeds which do not sprout may be considered as dead 

 before the test was made. An excess of such seed indicates the use of old 

 seed as an adulterant. 



The best red clover seed tests as high as 98 or 99 per cent purity and 

 99 per cent viability. 



The foreign seeds in red clover may include other crop seeds, as 

 alsike clover, white clover or timothy. Note should be made of the pres- 

 ence, character and quantity of such crop seed. 



The weed seeds should be considered with respect to their total cjuan- 

 tity and their character as affecting the clover crop and the land. Seeds 

 of strictly noxious plants should be distinguished as well as those indi- 

 cating the domestic or foreign source of the seed. Rural school pupils, 

 especially, who make tests of seeds, should be interested in identifying, so 

 far as possible, the kinds of all the weed seeds found. 



The noxious weed seeds found in red clover seed include: (Fig. 17) dock 

 (f), black bindweed (g), Russian thistle (h), white campion (j), bladder cam- 

 pion (k), night-flowering catchfly (1), pennycress (n), field peppergrass (o), 

 two kinds of false flax (p and q), black mustard (s), English charlock (t) ; (fig. 

 18) Indian mustard (a), wild carrot (d), field bindweed (e), clover dodder (g), 

 field dodder (i), corn gromwell (k), rat-tail plantain (1), buckhorn (m), rag- 

 weed (n), wild sunflower (p), oxcye daisy (q), Cana.da thistle (r), bull thistle 

 (s), v/ild chicory (t). 



Other weed seeds commonly found in red clover seed include: (Fig. 19) 

 crab-grass (a), witch-grass (b). yellow foxtail (c), green foxtail (d), velvet 

 grass (e), sedge (g), sorred (h), knotweed (i), pale knotweed (j), lady's- 

 thumb (k), lamb's-c^uarters (1), rough amaranth (n), spreading amaranth (o), 

 wild spurry (p), two kinds of chickwced (q and r), mouse-ear chickweed (s), 

 forked catchfly (t) ; (fig. 20) creeping buttercup (a), peppergrass (b), shepherd's 

 purse (c), cin(|uefoil (d), hop clover (e), yellow trefoil (f), birds-foot trefoil 

 (g), wild geraniums (h, i and j), stork's bill (k), spurge (1), spiny sida (m), 

 evening primrose (n). red pimpernel (o), sticktight (p), forget-me-not (q), 

 three kinds of vervain (r, s and t) ; (fig. 21) catmint (a), fiealall (b), rough- 

 leaved toadflax (c), smaller broad-leaved plantain (d), bracted plantain (e), 

 field madder (g), cleavers (h), wild corn salad (i), black-eyed Susan (1), dog 

 fennel (m), field camomile (n), scentless camomile (o), cat's-ear (q), oxtongue 

 (r), hawkweed picris (s). 



The American or the Canadian origin of red clover seed is strongly indi- 

 cated by the presence of the following weed seeds: (Fig. 17) night-flowering 

 catchfly (1); (fig. 18) field dodder (i). rat-tail plantain (1), ragweed (n), !)ull 

 thistle (s) ; (fig. 19) witch-grass (b), lady's-thumb (k), spreading amaranth 



